Two fan girls in middle earth
by Two amazing authors
Summary: well there are two fan girls in middle earth and they become important members of the fellowship but how will they cope knowing everything that is going to happen and who is going to die...
1. Leaving Ludlow By Claire

Disclaimer: We don't own any of it and don't claim to, please don't sue, blah blah blah you get the idea.  
  
Ch 1. The Journey Begins.  
  
'And this is where the royal prince of Midget first got a wedgie, he was a midget you know, and this is where queen Barbara of self-pity hanged herself, Drama queen if you ask me.'  
  
Claire couldn't contain herself any longer, she broke down into hysterics, grasping her sides in pain and trying not to wet herself with laughter.  
  
Sara had done her best to keep a straight face for most of her mock tour, but within seconds she too had cracked up and was trying not to roll around on the floor in front of a bunch of total strangers.  
  
After a few moments Claire wiped her eyes and straightened herself, just in time for a sneering comment from a very snobby old lady that seemed to think their behaviour, 'inappropriate'. Sara sighed and they began to descend a windy staircase into one of Ludlow Castles dungeons. 'Did you see the look on their faces?' Claire giggled as they discussed the local population of boring old people.  
  
'Okay, okay, seriously, this is the dungeon.' Sara held up her arms and gestured around the dark, damp room impressively. 'Where a bunch of dirty thieves were probably used as sex slaves!' The girls burst into another fit of wild hysterics and had to wait several minutes before either could speak again.  
  
'Hey,' Claire gasped as she straightened up, 'Hey, what's that?' She pointed through an archway behind Sara to another in the next room. Sara looked over her shoulder and frowned.  
  
'Strange...' She muttered. The girls entered the room and looked around. It was a large empty chamber with a large archway in the centre. A ragged red veil hung across the arch. Claire gasped and squealed loudly, causing Sara to jump.  
  
'Oh my god! It's just like the archway in Order of the Phoenix!' she was hopping up and down insanely now. 'Just like the one Sirius falls through! Oh my god! It's identical! Maybe this is where J.K got the idea from?'  
  
'I don't think so.' Sara said skeptically. 'This wasn't here before.'  
  
'Oh yeah right. Very funny.' Claire smirked and moved closer to examine the arch.  
  
'I'm serious! I've been round this stupid castle a million times and there has never been a room here before!' Sara almost stamped her foot in frustration. She knew she was right, but proof to the contrary stood 8 feet tall right in front of her.  
  
'Ohhh, mystery!' Claire sniggered. She hesitated when she saw the worried expression on her friends face, she was pretty sure this wasn't Sara's type of humour. 'You serious?' She asked slowly. Sara nodded. Claire frowned. She moved closer to the veil that was swaying serenely across the arch.  
  
'No!' Sara shouted as she raised her hand to touch it. Claire jumped and looked at her friend in alarm. 'Are you mad?' Sara gasped. 'We've found an archway identical to the one that sucks Sirius into DEATH in the Harry Potter books; in a room that didn't even EXIST until today, and you wanna TOUCH it?' The girls stood in silence for a moment as Sara regained control of herself.  
  
'Okay. Maybe you're sorta right.' Claire nodded slowly. 'But, just think of the possibilities, I mean, we don't know what's through here, we could walk through and come out Hogwarts, can you imagine that?' A manic glint appeared in Claire's eyes and for a moment her grin was mirrored on Sara's face. Sara looked at the veil and back at her friend; she bit her lip and considered the possibilities.  
  
'But, Claire come on, none of that's real.' She frowned at her friend who gave her a pathetically disappointed look. 'Right?' She asked. The girls looked at each other for a moment before breaking out into twin evil grins.  
  
'Can't hurt to look?' Claire suggested innocently.  
  
'And no harm done if we're wrong.' Sara agreed.  
  
The girls stood side by side and face the veil. They took a few deep breaths and grinned at each other. 'One...'  
  
'Two...'  
  
'THREE!' they screamed together and jumped forward.  
  
*****  
  
For a few moments it seemed they were suspended in space and time. They couldn't see, hear or feel anything. They a rushing sensation and a howling filled their ears. Lights sped past them and it felt like they were spinning wildly. Claire had a brief impression they were going to shoot out of the Stargate, but just as that idea began to take root the sensation stopped and they found themselves in a crumpled heap on a solid stone floor.  
  
The girls moaned and groaned as they examined their bruises. Not taking any notice of the four figures stood over them. Slowly they adjusted their gaze to their surroundings and found themselves to be in the middle of a large hall surrounded by four...  
  
'Elves!' Squealed Claire. Sara screamed. The elves jumped and three of them raised weapons and aimed directly at the girls' heads. The girls screamed loudly until the fourth Elf strode forward and gave them an order in Elvish. The weapons were lowered and the girls hesitantly got to their feet.  
  
'Sara?'  
  
'Yeah?'  
  
'This isn't Hogwarts.'  
  
'Yeah.'  
  
'This is...'  
  
'Yeah. And that's...'  
  
'Yeah.'  
  
Lord Elrond looked curiously at the two humans in front of him. He suspiciously eyed their unusual clothes and hair styles. 'Who are you?' He asked sternly. 'And what manor of magic allowed you to enter Imladris and appear before us?'  
  
The girls looked wildly at each other and tried to stammer a hurried explanation of what had just happed. Elrond's eyes widened but when they were done he looked thoughtful. One of the other elves stepped forward and asked him something in Sindarin.  
  
'What did he say?' Sara whispered in Claire's ear.  
  
'Oh!' She exclaimed, and hurriedly pulled a book out of her shoulder bag. It was her Sindarin dictionary, and she never left home without it. After a few pages of frantic page flicking, she paused, 'uh-oh. I think he thinks we're spies of Sauron.'  
  
'What? Well tell him we're not!'  
  
'There is no need.' Lord Elrond interrupted, making them both jump. 'I do not believe that is so. Although, you're origin and purpose here is clouded. But I believe there is some reason yet to be discovered.'  
  
The girls exchanged strange looks. When Lord Elrond told them they were to stay in Rivendell until the council, they were in a positive state of euphoria. When the elf maid leading them to their rooms told them they would be free to roam the valley, Claire fainted and it was ten minutes before they could wake her up. When they finally got to their rooms and saw the fine elf clothes that had been prepared for them should they wish to change, Claire fainted again.  
  
When she had been revived and the elf had left them alone, both girls jumped onto the huge four poster bed and began jumping up and down, squealing and laughing insanely.  
  
'This is soooooo much better than Hogwarts!' Screamed Sara.  
  
'I know! We're...' Claire froze and her eyes widened. 'Oh my God we're gonna meet the Fellowship!' She screamed. Both girls stood screaming for a moment as the fan girls inside took complete control. It was only after Sara pointed out that every elf in Rivendell could probably hear them that they calmed down.  
  
'Okay.' She gasped. The girls slumped onto the bed. 'How are we going to work this?'  
  
'Work what?'  
  
'Well, we've appeared in Rivendell, which is every fan girls dream, and we've done it!' They had to let another fit of giggles subside before she could continue. 'And the Fellowship is probably arriving any day, and there is no way they are leaving without us.'  
  
Claire stared at her for a moment, and then frowned. 'What? Oh come on don't tell me you don't want to join the fellowship?' Sara asked incredulously.  
  
'No, I do, it's just.' Claire fished her prized copy of The Lord of the Rings out of her bag. 'We know, well, everything! We know what happens to the Fellowship. What if we accidentally change something? And what would they say if they found out we know the future?'  
  
Sara considered this for a moment. 'We don't tell them.'  
  
Claire rolled her eyes. 'Well duh! But they're gonna suspect something, don't you think?'  
  
'Well, we can just tell them, we have visions or something, y'know, we can see the future.' Claire seemed to hesitate for a moment, rolling this idea around in her head; but her desire to meet the Fellowship was too strong, and she gave in.  
  
'Besides,' Sara reassured her as they left to explore, 'finally meeting Legolas in person? I'm willing to take the risk!'  
  
*****  
  
The girls awoke the next morning to the sound of birds singing, with rays of sunlight falling gracefully across their beds. They stretched and snuggled into their overly comfortably beds as the sunlight warmed them, and when both realized the events of the previous day were not a dream, they leapt up and met each other with a thud in their connecting doorway.  
  
'Ouch!'  
  
'Second that.' The girls quickly got dressed amid giggles and shouted suggestions on what to do for the rest of the day, and raced along the hallways to what the elf they had met last night pointed out as, 'the dining room'. The girls raced in to find a large bowl of fruit waiting for them as breakfast. After they had finished, and Claire had fetched her bag with her trusty copy of the Trilogy and her Dictionary, they felt ready to explore once more.  
  
They were half way across a courtyard when Claire made a gasping sound and clutched Sara's arm. 'What?' She demanded.  
  
'Merry and Pippin! Merry and Pippin!' She hissed.  
  
Sara followed her gaze and almost squealed out loud. Merry and Pippin were sat on a bench, munching on apples not 20 feet away from them. Both had to fight incredibly hard not to rush over and hug the cute little hobbits to death. They decided instead that they would awe the hobbits with amazing insight into their journey so far, leading them to the belief the girls could see the future, and well, past.  
  
'Meriadoc Brandybuck.'  
  
'And Peregrin Took.' The girls said in their best likeness of Gandalf. The two hobbits looked up and halted mid-chew. It was all the girls could do not to burst out laughing.  
  
'Err, that's us. And you are?' Merry asked suspiciously, it was obvious the girls weren't elves.  
  
'I'm Claire and this is my friend Sara. We're not from around here either.' She added as they continued to look slightly confused.  
  
'We're from the Shire. Where are you from?' Pippin asked in his most adorably innocent voice.  
  
'Ludlow, well, I'm from Ludlow, Claire here is from Rhayader.' Sara explained. The hobbits continued to look blank.  
  
'Uhh, they're small villages some distance to the North.' Claire lied. The hobbits nodded.  
  
'You're not elves. Are you rangers like strider?' Merry asked.  
  
'Err.' Sara looked at Claire for guidance.  
  
'Sort of. We're from a long way away really, Ara- I mean Strider, wouldn't know us.'  
  
Pippin innocently asked if Ludlow was like the Shire at all and Sara immediately launched into a furious tirade about the spoil-sport locals who hated children. The four of them enjoyed simple conversation for a while, and the hobbits fears and suspicions seemed to disappear. When the girls began their charade about visions, the hobbits couldn't seem to get enough. Merry was in the middle of a particularly amusing story about Sam's old Gaffer when the significance of their presence suddenly occurred to Claire.  
  
'Frodo.' She muttered, as if snapping out of a day dream. The three looked at her in mild surprise for a moment until she seemed to realize where she was.  
  
'Where's Frodo? Is he okay? Is Strider here with you?'  
  
'Whoa girl! Easy up on the third degree will ya?' Sara chided.  
  
'What's it to you if he's here or not?' Came a familiar voice.  
  
The group jumped. They looked up to find Sam staring at them suspiciously.  
'Sam! How is he?' Merry asked immediately. Merry and Pippin jumped up and exchanged hugs with their friend.  
  
'he's doin' jus' fine, as a matter o' fact.' He said, still eyeing the girls warily.  
  
'Sam, this is Claire, and this is Sara. There from the North.' Pippin introduced them jauntily.  
  
'They're okay, Sam. They may dress a bit strange, but they seem to be able to predict the future!' Merry explained. Sara couldn't decide if this made Sam look more or less uncomfortable.  
  
'Samwise, please believe you can trust us. I know you are probably the most loyal and brave person I will ever meet, and I would be honoured if we could perhaps become friends?'  
  
Sara and Pippin looked absolutely stumped. Merry seemed taken aback but soon his expression changed to one of curiosity. Sam seemed fazed at first but quickly his expression changed to one of uncertainty. Claire waited patiently but held his gaze, hoping he would see the sincerity of her action and the honesty in what she had said. It was only a moment before Sam's expression softened and he smiled.  
  
'Well, I must say, you seem nice enough. Excuse my rudeness but we ain't exactly 'ad a good couple o' days.' He smiled again, and Claire returned the smile whole-heartedly. Sam had always been one of her favourite characters, and knowing what lay before him, she wanted to show him as much kindness and friendship as she could. Sara beamed with admiration at her friend, excitement filling her with the prospect of the journey and friendships that lay before them. The group relaxed back into idle chatter as the day waned. Soon they were summoned to dinner, and had to go their separate ways, for now. None of them knew what an exciting day lay before them when they woke the next morning.  
  
**END** 


	2. Meeting the Council of Elrond By Sara

Chapter 2: Meeting the Council of Elrond.  
  
An excited Claire jumping up and down on her bed waked Sara the next morning. "We're going to meet the fellowship today, we're going to meet the fellowship today!" she screamed.  
  
"Ok, ok don't tell the whole of middle earth about it will you? Don't forget that this is going to be a secret meeting that we are going to, with emphasis on secret!"  
  
"I know, I know but we are going to meet Boromir and Legolas, I mean what could be better than that? I wonder what Boromir will think of me? I wonder what he is like in real life? Do I look ok to you?"  
  
"Nah you look like Gimli on a bad day!" teased Sara.  
  
Claire punched Sara on the arm. "Ow that hurt! You know you are turning into a total Mary Sue!" she laughed.  
  
Claire had been in love with Boromir and Faramir ever since she had first read the books and then when the movies had came out that just made her fantasies even more real. And Sara had taken a huge liking to Legolas 'he's just so damn cute!' was her favourite phrase when it came to talking about him which she did a lot!  
  
"What are you going to wear today? They have filled up our entire wardrobe with Elven clothes now."  
  
Claire pulled open Sara's wardrobe to reveal the most beautiful robes they had ever seen in their entire lives, there were all different colours with little pieces of embroidery everywhere and the most lush fabrics ever.  
  
"I don't know, lets have a look." Said Sara as she reluctantly pulled back the heavy duvet that covered the four poster bed, she was worried that she was going to wake up back in her tiny bed in Ludlow, so far she didn't miss it one bit.  
  
Claire sifted through the robes and pulled out the most amazing dress of Lilac satin, with a plunging neckline, and a dark purple waistband. The dress had tiny little pink flowers embroidered at the cuffs, and at the bottom of the skirt, it was breath taking.  
  
"Now," smiled Claire "he won't be able to resist you in this!"  
  
"What are you wearing?" asked Sara.  
  
"Ooooh I was hoping you would ask that!" Claire went running off into her own room, which was just across the hallway. 5 minutes later she came darting back in fully dressed in this almost Victorian style costume, with a beautiful flowing skirt that trailed behind slightly, and a bodice that clung to her slender figure and bell shaped sleeves.  
  
"Ya know, if you were a bit taller you would look exactly like Arwen!" commented Sara.  
  
Claire smiled the biggest smile in the whole of middle earth, she looked as if she had just been called her majesty or something, "how are you going to do your hair?"  
  
"I thought I would just put half of it up like I had yesterday, what do you think?" Claire asked demonstrating the hairstyle she had just mentioned.  
  
"Yeah it looks fine to me, how do you think I should have mine?" asked Sara, whose hair was not very long.  
  
Claire walked over to the windowsill and opened a small Jewellery box, which had been there since they first came. She opened the box and this little elvish dancer rose up and danced around on thin air, suspended by some sort of magic.  
  
"Wow!" said Claire breathlessly "I didn't read about these in the book!"  
  
Sara walked over to Claire now fully dressed, and stared entranced by this amazing jewellery box. Claire reached inside and pulled out a small hair clip, it had a butterfly on the end encrusted with amethysts and some sort of black jewel, which they had never seen before.  
  
"Here if you do a side parting and clip it over with this it will looking nice, it even matches your dress!" said Claire, just then a bell sounded in their room, they turned around to find an elf servant standing at Sara's door "the meeting will commence in 5 minutes." He said politely.  
  
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Screamed both the girls.  
  
Claire dashed off into her room to put the finishing touches to her clothes, and Sara put the clip into her hair, smiled at her reflection in the mirror, Claire was right it did match her dress. Claire was always right when it came to style, 'she has such good fashion sense' thought Sara, who was glad she had such a cool and totally amazing friend.  
  
"You ready?" asked Claire, who was now stood in the doorway with her hair up and just the slightest hint of make up around her eyes and a touch of lip-gloss.  
  
"You look very au naturel." Commented Sara.  
  
"Thank you!" said Claire.  
  
The two girls walked down the long staircase, into the entrance hall, and stood over in the corner stood Boromir, clutching his horn gazing around the room.  
  
"It's him!" squealed Claire down Sara's ear hole.  
  
Boromir looked up, when he heard their footsteps, Claire had turned around with her back to him, and was whistling as she pretended to be interested in a painting on the wall. Boromir walked over to the two girls.  
  
"Hello, you must be Sara and Claire, Elrond has told me a little about your coming here unexpectedly." He said politely "which of you is Sara and which is Claire?"  
  
"I'm Sara and she's Claire." Said Sara, as Claire was too stunned to even contemplate speaking.  
  
"Hello Claire" said Boromir, he bent down and kissed her gently on the wrist and the two locked eyes.  
  
"H-h-h-hello" she stuttered, she was mesmerised, and so was he! Sara smiled to herself and wondered over to the table were isildors sword lay.  
  
"The meeting is about to begin," said the servant elf.  
  
Sara walked over to where Claire and Boromir were still standing, staring at each other.  
  
"Come on Claire!" said Sara, grabbing Claire's arm and practically dragging her towards the meeting place.  
  
Sara and Claire were the last to arrive at the meeting, and they took their seats next to Sam and Legolas.  
  
"Are here you are, we were afraid you had become lost." Said Elrond "let me introduce you to everyone" he gestured to his left "Gimli"  
  
"Hello" said Gimli in his gruff voice.  
  
"Gloin"  
  
"Hello"  
  
"Glofindel, Erestor and Galdor, who I'm sure you've already met" said Elrond.  
  
"Hello" they chorused.  
  
"The elf lord of the grey havens"  
  
"Hello" he said politely.  
  
"Legolas, elf of Mirkwood.  
  
"Hello" said Legolas, as he gave a gorgeous smile.  
  
"Boromir"  
  
"Hello" said Boromir, still staring at Claire.  
  
"Aragorn."  
  
"Hello"  
  
"Gandalf"  
  
"Hello" said Gandalf apprehensively.  
  
"Bilbo Baggins of the Shire"  
  
"Hello" came the reply of a warm and wise voice.  
  
"And finally Frodo Baggins, a very brave little hobbit."  
  
"Hello"  
  
"We are the council of Elrond and we are here today to answer the threat of Mordor," said Elrond in his most stern voice.  
  
The girls had a sudden urge to run around kissing and hugging everyone there, the fan girls were going to take over again if they weren't careful.  
  
"Lord Elrond, how do we know we can trust these strangers?" asked Aragorn, staring at the two girls, who stared back trying to look composed and innocent.  
  
"I believe they have a purpose here, and although I am not yet sure of what it is, I think they should be allowed to join the council."  
  
All eyes turned to focus on the two girls who were sat on the stone chairs praying that they would be accepted into the fellowship. Claire and Sara exchanged worried glances.  
  
"Claire?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"How are we going to convince them that we are not a threat to them?"  
  
"I have already met with the girls and I don't see them as any threat to us, in fact I think they could be useful." Said Boromir in the girls defence.  
  
"We spent time with them yesterday, and they told us about themselves and their visions could be useful to helping us." Said Glofindel.  
  
The council quarrelled over whether or not the girls should be allowed in and if they should be trusted, there was all the hobbits Boromir, Legolas and Elrond on the girl's side, and Aragorn, Gandalf and the others seemed to be arguing against it.  
  
"Claire, I think you had better use your words of wisdom, and convince them!" Sara whispered urgently to her friend.  
  
"Ok, here goes nothing!"  
  
Claire rose from her seat and the arguing stopped, she looked around at Sara who gave her the thumbs up, to which Legolas frowned not knowing what this gesture meant.  
  
"If it's ok with you I would just like to say a few words." Claire said as she took her position next to the alter.  
  
"I know our presence here is unexpected, but we do not want to cause trouble but to help fight the threat of Sauron in this perilous journey for the freedom and safety of middle earth. We understand your apprehension but do not worry we will fight along side when the time comes, or we will die trying." Claire stopped to observe the effect this had, had upon the group, the looked at Aragorn, his eyes gave nothing away but then his lips curved into a small smile.  
  
"Your pledge is acceptable," he answered coolly.  
  
Claire gave a big whoop, and they all stared "it's a form of celebration where I come from." She replied to their curious stares. Claire returned to the chair at which she had been sitting, and looked at Sara "remind me never to do that again will you."  
  
Sara laughed quietly "ok!"  
  
Now the meeting could finally begin, Elrond stood up to address everyone, "Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-earth stands upon the brink of destruction.  
  
None can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall. Each race is bound this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."  
  
Frodo stood up and walked slowly and almost ceremoniously towards the alter and took the ring out of his pocket and placed it in the middle of the alter. The ring just sat there, they all silence for several minutes whilst they took in the power that lay in front of them.  
  
"Wow" whispered both the girls breathlessly.  
  
Boromir stood up and walked towards the ring, there was obvious tension in the room. "It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor.  
  
Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor kept the forces of Mordor at bay by the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!"  
  
"You cannot wield it. None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master." Said Aragorn heatedly.  
  
"And what would a mere ranger like you know?" asked Boromir.  
  
Claire and Sara were watching this argument unfold barely daring to breath, it was strange because they virtually knew every move they were going to make, the only thing that they didn't know was what it felt like to be sat next to all these amazing men, elves, dwarves and Hobbits, until now.  
  
"He is no mere ranger!" said Legolas angrily "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance." Said Legolas standing up.  
  
The look on the elves face was indescribable; he was defending Aragorn against Boromir although Boromir was by far the least trustworthy of the group.  
  
"I don't know what you see in him," whispered Sara.  
  
"I know he's not the most brave and loyal character at the beginning but in the end he saves Frodo's life by offering his own!" Sara didn't seem to know what to say to this and just turned back to watch what was happening, Claire frequently had that effect on her, because of almost artistic way of speaking.  
  
"Aragorn? This is Isildur's heir?" spat Boromir.  
  
"And heir to the throne of Gondor." Said Legolas defensively.  
  
"God he's cute when he's angry!" Sara whispered to Claire, Legolas briefly turned to look at them as if he had heard what she had said, Sara turned bright red and Claire chuckled.  
  
"Havo dad, Legolas said Aragorn in sindarin Elvish.  
  
"Gondor has no king, Gondor needs no king." Said Boromir scowling at Aragorn.  
  
"I agree with Aragorn" said Sara standing up to say her piece, "the power of the ring has proved itself to be evil, and only evil more than once."  
  
"what do you know about the ring?" asked Gandalf.  
  
Sara had to now choose her words very carefully, because she knew that if she revealed too much they would become suspicious again. "I know of hat the ring has done to Golem and what it almost did to Bilbo, and I know that the Black riders are drawn to the ring like moths to a.... flame" she was going to say light bulb but they did not have them.  
  
Sara sat back down and both the girls breathed a sigh of relief, Claire cast her gaze to the gorgeous scenery that surrounded them with trees that sprang up out of the ground for miles and the most striking shades of green that she had ever seen hiding different fruits that looked ripe enough to eat, Gandalf's deep voice brought her out of her reverie.  
  
"Aragorn and Sara are right, we cannot use it."  
  
"You only have one choice, the ring must be destroyed." Elrond said gravely.  
  
"what are we waiting for!" Gimli shouted and strode towards the ring and lifted his shiny axe up high and brought it crashing down on the ring, the axe smashed in a thousand pieces and everyone had to duck to avoid being hit my the flying metal.  
  
"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor, and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came." Said Elrond.  
  
The Black language of the ring sounded out through the council, it was all Claire could do to keep Sara from jumping into Legolas' arms.  
  
"one of you must do this" he said looking at them in turn.  
  
"One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the great Eye is ever-watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air that you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly." Said Boromir, who had now returned to his chair.  
  
"Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!" said Legolas enraged.  
  
"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?" said Gimli staring at Legolas.  
  
"And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?" asked Boromir.  
  
"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" said Gimli.  
  
All the elves were offended by this and stood up along with the dwarves until everyone, except Sara, Claire and Frodo.  
  
"Oh dear sighed Claire" she looked over at Frodo, he looked back at the girls, took a deep breath.  
  
"Oh my God! Here he goes!" Sara squealed. The girls looked on as Frodo was about to accept the biggest burden of his life, and the girls couldn't help but admire him.  
  
"I'll take the ring!" he said trying to make himself heard above the ring with little success, "I'll take the ring to Mordor!" he tried again.  
  
"That's it" said Claire, she stood up on her chair and shouted at the top of her voice, "Oi!!!!!! Frodo is trying to make an important announcement, and all you lot can do is sit around squabbling like a bunch of orcs!" this seemed to have worked, they returned to their seats looking a little sheepish.  
  
"I will take the ring to Mordor" Frodo said giving Claire a thankful smile. "Though I do not know the way"  
  
"I will help you bear this burden Frodo Baggins, so long as its yours to bear." Said Gandalf walking over to join Frodo.  
  
"If by my life or death, if I can protect you, I will." Aragorn walked over and knelt in front of Frodo, "You have my sword."  
  
Sara looked at Gandalf and saw wink at Elrond she couldn't help feeling a bubble of excitement, even though they were going to risk their lives.  
  
"And you have my bow." Legolas joined the group.  
  
"And my axe." Said Gimli, who walked to stand over by Legolas, it seemed he had accepted the Elf.  
  
"You carry the fates of us all, little one." Boromir walked over, "if this is indeed the will of the council then Gondor will see it done.  
  
Sara and Claire exchanged huge grins, they stood up and said in unison "and you have our sight!" the two girls walked over to Frodo, gave him a hug at the same time which nearly killed Frodo, then they took their place among the small group.  
  
"Wait for it..." Claire whispered.  
  
"Here!" shouted Sam a he came running from behind the hedge fencing, "Mr Frodo's not going anywhere without me."  
  
"No, indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you from him, even when he is summoned to a secret Council, and you are not." Said Elrond smiling at the loyalty that this unique young hobbit was portraying.  
  
"Oi! We're coming too!" merry and pippin ran out from behind the two stone columns, "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us."  
  
Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing."  
  
"Well that rules you out, Pip."  
  
The girls laughed, along with the rest of the group, that hugging urge was returning.  
  
"Eleven companions, so be it, you shall be the fellowship of the ring"  
  
Sara and Claire didn't know whom to hug so they hugged each other whilst jumping up and down screaming "We're in the Fellowship!"  
  
"Great, where are we going?" asked pippin looking slightly bemused.  
  
The councill was retreating back up the stone steps, to go and rest ready for the next day when they would begin their journey into Mordor. Sara was walking up behind Legolas, she was last, and she was having trouble because some of the thousands of years old stones were loose, "Owwwww!" she had tripped over with her foot caught. Legolas looked behind and came to her rescue.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked sounding genuinely concerned.  
  
"Yeah, I've just twisted my ankle that's all"  
  
"Let me help you up." He offered her his hand and pulled her up onto her feet. She attempted to walk but the pain was too great.  
  
"I don't think I'm going to be able to make it back up those stone steps."  
  
"Here, give me your arm." Legolas gently pulled her arm over his shoulder so that she could rest her weight on him, and together they hobbled up the stairs.  
  
Claire was watching to see where her friend had gone and when she spotted her walking up with Legolas she smiled, Sara was perfectly fine, no need to worry.  
  
Claire lay awake that night, chatting to Sara between the rooms, although they would not all be going to Mordor they would each play a significant part in saving middle earth, even them...  
  
**END** 


	3. Journey to Moria By Claire

Ch 3. Journey to Moria.  
  
The fellowship had set out early the following day and made good progress. The girls were finding it hard to keep up with the rigorous trek but were able to maintain the same pace as the hobbits.  
Claire fingered her sword hilt absent-mindedly as she walked. She and Sara had been given the most beautiful elvish weapons and garments for their journey.  
Her sword was a likeness of Arwen's at first sight. It curved into an elegant point and an elvish inscription decorated the blade. The handle was black with a red stone set in the end. Her dagger matched this, and hung on the left side of her sword belt, as she was left handed and a smaller dagger concealed at her ankle, just in case. Her clothes made her feel like a true native of Middle Earth; she had tight black trousers, black elvish boots (which were so light to wear they were more like shoes.) Her top was a dark grey tunic with a silvery red sheen, long fitted sleeves and silver clasps all the way down the centre. Over top of this she wore a black leather body guard. It was shaped like a vest top with thick straps and an almost corset like fitting. It tied down the centre also. Her quiver was a dark mahogany shade with gold and silver patterns of decoration. Her bow matched this, being a dark wood with silver decoration at each end and a black grip. Her black cape billowed around her ankles in the morning breeze. The dark red inner lining became visible, and it matched the shimmering dark red hood. The clasp around her throat was a silver leaf; the underside of it was auburn. Her naturalistic make-up and smokey alluring eye shadow finished the look perfectly.  
Claire looked at her friend and thought how beautiful she looked in Elvish clothes. Sara seemed to look perfect in a different elemental colour, which suited her perfectly.  
Sara was wearing a fitted black top with floaty white sleeves, and dark blue tight trousers. She had black shin high boots with a concealed dagger. Her dark blue cape hung to her ankles and its pearl blue lining was visible as it was blown back by a sudden gust of wind. The clasp was black, and appeared to resemble the tree of Gondor. The quiver on her back was black with silver decoration and a silver rim. Her bow matched this, with a white grip. Her sword was the twin of Claire's, though the elvish word for 'strength' rather than 'Grace' was carved along the blade. The hilt of it was black with twists of silver. Her silver nail varnish, shimmery eye shadow and blue eye liner made her look incredible, and her black hair shone softly as it rippled in the wind.  
Both girls also had small packs with a few provisions. They also contained the girl's mobile phones, lighters and Claire's books. Sara also carried some make-up, her purse and a small map of Ludlow. Some things she would find hard to explain if the Fellowship found them.  
Whilst sat around a campfire one night the girls found themselves engaged in conversation.  
'Oh what I wouldn't give for a nice juicy fry-up and a pint of ale.' Grumbled Pippin.  
Sara grinned at him and took in her surroundings. Pippin, Merry, Frodo and Sam were sat one side of the fire, Gimli and Boromir sat another side with Gandalf next to them feigning sleep with his hat over his face, and the girls were another side. Aragorn sat on the far side with his back against a rock, lost in thought. Legolas had been patrolling the perimeter and took a place next to Aragorn when he returned.  
'It appears to be safe.' He said quietly on his return. Claire elbowed Sara in the side as she sighed out loud. The conversation dwindled and Claire found herself absently humming a tune as she gazed into the fire.  
'Of what do you sing, Claire?' Frodo asked innocently. Claire snapped back to reality.  
'Oh! Oh it's nothing.' She blushed slightly.  
'It sounded beautiful.' Boromir smiled. Claire felt her face melt and smiled appreciatively.  
'Go on.' Sara teased. 'Sing it out loud!' Claire threw her a furious glare; she was very self conscious of her singing voice.  
'Yes, please do!' Merry and Pippin were part of the conversation now. In fact, the entire camp was staring at Claire expectantly.  
'I'm not very good. And I won't sing without Sara to accompany me!' She said triumphantly. Sara made a disbelieving sound. Seeing there was no way out of this she looked daggers at Claire, and realizing what she had been humming, began to smirk.  
'They shouldn't hear this song.' She whispered.  
'The basic meaning is universal; they won't know where it's from.' Claire whispered back. The girls sighed, took a deep breath and began to sing;  
  
'When the cold of winter comes, Starless nights will come again, In the fading of the sun, We will walk in bitter lands, But in dreams, I can hear your name, And in dreams, We will meet again.  
  
When the seas and mountains fall, And we come to end of days, In the dark I hear her call, Calling me there, I will go there, And back again.'  
  
The girls finished their song to tumultuous applause from the hobbits, Gimli and Gandalf. Aragorn and Legolas simply smiled and Boromir seemed completely speechless.  
'That was beautiful.' Legolas nodded. 'You both have lovely voices.' Sara positively beamed.  
The rest of the evening was more light-hearted than any had been since leaving Rivendell. Sara spent the entire evening going misty eyed every time Legolas spoke, and the hobbits entertained the entire group with tales from the Shire.  
'It almost seems like some fun camping holiday, doesn't it?' Claire whispered to Sara as they drifted to sleep next to the dying campfire.  
'Yeah. Wish it could stay like this forever. We still have loads of time for fun before anything big happens, don't worry.' Sara smiled as her eyes fell shut and her breathing relaxed. Claire didn't reply, nor did she sleep that night.  
  
*****  
  
'That's it! Good! Very good!'  
'Blocked well Pippin!'  
'Thank you!'  
Boromir was sparring with the two hobbits atop the mountain they had chosen the have lunch on. Claire sat next to Aragorn, watching them thoughtfully. Aragorn smiled as the two Halflings attempted to take on a man twice their size and strength. Claire's eyes became dull and her smile faded as she realized it was these same two hobbits Boromir would die for eventually.  
Meanwhile, Sara was busy undergoing an archery lesson with her favourite elf. 'That is it, a little more relaxed.' Legolas purred in her ear. Sara immediately became tenser. Having Legolas this close to her, his hand on hers as she gripped her bow, was almost too much to handle. She aimed at the target, but at the last minute Pippin let out a cry of victory, and her arrow went horribly astray.  
It was lucky Claire had just moved, because the arrow embedded itself firmly in the rock about half a foot from Aragorn's hand. Aragorn's eyes widened. Calmly he slid off the rock and went and sat on one the other side of where the hobbits were now sparring with each other. Sara smiled sheepishly up at Legolas who immediately suggested they suspend physical training for now, and instead talked about something. Sara jumped at the chance and practically begged Legolas to tell her all about Mirkwood and the Wood elves.  
'Where is Claire?' Sam asked Aragorn.  
'She went for a brief walk. Boromir has gone to see that she is safe.' He reassured him. Upon hearing this Sara paused in her conversation and smiled knowingly. 'Good for you Claire!' she thought to herself, believing this was just a plot of her friends to get Boromir alone.  
Not twenty feet away, just around a big boulder Claire had sat on her own battling with her emotions. She wanted desperately to save Boromir, but she knew if she did, she would throw the whole balance of things completely into disarray.  
'Claire?'  
Claire shot up as the man's voice startled her out of her thoughts. 'Boromir!' She looked at his bewildered expression and felt the tears creeping into her eyes.  
'Is something wrong?' He asked. She looked at him for a moment and without realising what she was doing, drew her sword. Boromir arched a brow.  
'Will you train with me?' Claire smiled jubilantly, her eyes still over bright. Boromir considered her for a moment, then drew his own sword and approached her.  
'Have you ever used a sword before?'  
'Oh yes, but that was quite different.' Claire prepared to spar. 'Sara and I fence back home. We take archery too, but fencing is quite different to actually sword fighting, and the blades are far lighter.'  
Boromir smiled, then quickly jumped forward and began the training. He attacked, she blocked, and this went on for about five minutes. Claire successfully parried again and spun round to give Boromir a playful tap on the behind with the flat of her sword. He gave a shout of protest. 'Fencing may be different, but you are still very skilled with a blade.'  
Claire blushed. 'Thank you.' Boromir launched at her with a string of attacks. She successfully evaded each until he tricked her into turning her back. In this split second he dropped his own sword and grabbed her around the middle. Claire let out a small shriek of surprise and dropped her own sword. Boromir lifted her effortlessly off the ground and turned her round to face him. Claire had read of his strength but she had never imagined she would see it demonstrated in such a way. She wrapped her arms around his neck to make herself feel safe. Boromir held her so that her face was within inches of his own. He lowered her to the ground slowly; they continued to stare in silence.  
Claire felt like she was in a dream. Slowly Boromir leant down and kissed her full on the lips. She kissed him back, and for a few moments they stood in each other's arms, nothing else mattered.  
'HIDE!'  
Claire and Boromir jumped as their moment was rudely interrupted. 'Oh no!' Claire suddenly realized what all the commotion was. 'Hide Boromir! Quick! Crows!' they swiftly scurried under a large bush and lay there as a black screeching mass swarmed over head. When the flock had passed Claire and Boromir brushed themselves off and quickly rejoined the group. 'We must take the pass of Caradhras.' Gandalf decided.  
Claire locked eyes with her friend. They both seemed a little shaken, but were equally enjoying gripping onto their respective mans arm for comfort.  
  
*****  
  
As they began the grueling climb up the snowy mountain, Sara and Claire walked alone at the back of the group.  
'Oh my god you kissed? Well? Was he good? Was it really romantic?' Sara quizzed her friend.  
'Easy tiger! I was expecting to hear about you and Leggy's little training session. Merry informed me you two were quite close!' Claire teased.  
Sara frowned, then smiled, then frowned again. 'Well, I think he likes me, but he's a little guarded.' She sighed.  
'Duh! He's and elf! When they mate they mate for life!' Sara looked scandalized and began to giggle incessantly. 'He has to be guarded; he needs to get to know you better is all.' Claire gave her friends arm a reassuring squeeze. 'How could he possibly resist a stunner like you? I mean, if you don't win him over with your charm, your inner fan girl can always tie him to a chair and torture him until he professes his love for you.'  
The girls screamed and shouted as they had a mini snowball fight. Gandalf turned round and glared at them. 'If you two don't mind!' He shouted in one of his sternest voices. The girls froze. 'We would like to pass these hills in relative secrecy!' He looked furious. Sara elbowed Claire.  
'Oi!' Claire whispered.  
'Yes?' Demanded Gandalf. Claire went white. Sara had to bite her fist to stop from breaking into hysterics.  
'Well, it's just, we're perfectly safe here, Gandalf. At least for the time being that is.' The fellowship all turned and stared.  
'You have seen this?' Aragorn asked, impressed.  
'Yes. When we get to that ledge...'  
Sara indicated farther up the mountain and was about to go on when Claire hissed; 'Too much info!' Sara nodded.  
'When we reach that ledge we should raise our defenses again, but at the moment we are safe.' Claire finished. Sara nodded importantly then grinned at her friend who shook her head with a smile.  
They trudged up the mountain having a loud conversation with Merry and Pippin about snowball fight tactics. Sam expressed his opinion on snow, and how it was an annoying interruption to gardening. But even he couldn't deny how wonderful it was to see the flowers in spring after the winter months. Soon the whole Fellowship was busy discussing their favourite times of year, until Frodo fell.  
'Frodo!' Cried Aragorn. He stopped the poor little hobbit mid-roll and put him back on his feet, Frodo immediately began searching frantically for the ring, but it was gone. Sara and Claire looked at Boromir just as he picked it up. Sara felt a shiver go down her spine as she looked at the fascinated expression on his face.  
'Such a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt, over so small a thing.' He lifted his hand to stroke the ring. 'Such a little thing.'  
'Boromir!' Aragorn snapped him out of his reverie with a strange sternness in his voice. Boromir looked up, startled; it was as if he did not know where he was. 'Give the ring to Frodo.' Aragorn demanded. The entire Fellowship watched with bated breath.  
Boromir slowly descended to where the man and hobbit stood. 'As you wish.' Frodo snatched the ring from him. 'I care not.' A tense look was exchanged between the two men, then Boromir ruffled Frodo's hair and began to climb the path again. The onlookers relaxed and Aragorn released his grip on his sword hilt, but did not begin to walk again with Frodo. He waited until the two girls who had been at the back of the group were alongside him.  
'I thought you said we were safe for now.' He shot at them.  
Sara looked confused, and then profoundly annoyed. 'Whatever.' She shrugged and walked past him.  
Claire however, held his gaze. His expression softened slightly at the look on her face. But his eyes were unreadable. After about a minute they began to walk again and catch up to the others.  
'Geese, what was that about?' Sara whispered to her friend as she caught up. Claire didn't reply. After a little while, they reached a higher ledge, and a snowstorm.  
The girls decided immediately they no longer like snow. Aragorn and Boromir lifted the hobbits and attempted to wade through the snow drift. It was useless.  
'Well, they said we would be safe until we reached this ledge!' Gimli roared over the storm.  
Gandalf listened to various pleas to turn back, hesitating until Legolas cried out, 'There is a fell voice on the air!'  
'It's Saruman!' Cried Gandalf, but his voice was drowned by a large crashing sound as a ton of snow came hurling down towards them. Everyone ducked, Gandalf walked to the edge of the ledge and began to chant loudly; he was trying to counter Saruman's spell, but to no avail.  
'Brace yourself!' Sara and Claire huddled together and put their hands over their heads, and not a moment too soon. Legolas seized Gandalf and pulled him back just as another huge wave of snow covered the ledge on which they stood.  
There was silence for a moment. And any on looker would have believed the party crushed. Until heads began to appear. One by one the Fellowship re-emerged. Most grumbling loudly.  
'We should turn back and go through the gap of Rohan, and take the west roads to my city!' Boromir cried.  
'If we cannot go over the mountain let us go under it! Let us go through the Mines of Moria!' Gimli shouted.  
The girls shivered as they brushed snow off their clothes and attempted to extract it from their collars before it melted down their backs. 'Oh boy, here we go.' Sara motioned towards Gandalf's worried expression.  
'We could say something?'  
'You said yourself! We can't! It will mess things up!' Sara chided.  
'Right, we need Gandalf the White more than Gandalf the Grey.'  
'Let the ring bearer decide.' Gandalf said finally. Sara and Claire groaned. They were not looking forward to meeting a Balrog. But right now they had to admit being inside a dry place would be much better than where they were.  
'We will go through the mines.' Came Frodo's answer. Sara wandered if he would have changed his mind knowing all that was yet to come.  
  
*****  
  
The journey down the mountain was far easier, and quicker. The few days it took them to reach the walls of Moria were quite uneventful. Once they got there, the Girls began to feel the reality of the situation, and by the time they had reached a place to cross the dark muddy water in front of them and begin looking for the door, they were both absolutely terrified.  
The fellowship came to a halt as Gandalf examined the solid rock. He mumbled to himself but Sara and Claire weren't listening, they were watching the water. The door began to glow.  
It was far more beautiful than Sara and Claire had originally expected. Gandalf explained what was written and began chanting passwords, each one failed to work. 'Oh for heavens sake!' Hissed Sara. She wanted desperately to tell him what the password was so they could get inside and get the entire ordeal over with.  
Claire watched the water. Merry and Pippin threw stones until Aragorn stopped them, but the water continued to ripple. She took several steps back until she came into contact with Boromir. He put a comforting arm around her shoulders and threw Aragorn a puzzled look as she gripped him around the waist, shaking. He stroked her arms and back in an attempt to comfort her.  
Sara looked worried by this, but soon found herself struggling with her own fear as Frodo solved the riddle and the door swung open, revealing a suffocating darkness.  
The fellowship entered cautiously, Gimli bragging about the hospitality of Dwarves. As Gandalf lit his staff the bodies that littered the floor appeared before them. The girls squealed and stumbled backwards. 'This is no mine, it's a tomb.' Exclaimed Boromir.  
Gimli roared with rage and grief as the scene unfolded and the presence of Goblins was revealed.  
'We should never have come here; we make for the gap of Rohan.' The group backed towards the door, weapons drawn. 'Now get out of here! Get out!' Boromir cried.  
The girls realized this as the cue for the octopus type monster too late. The hobbits began to scream as the creature seized hold of Frodo's ankles. The girls screamed equally loud as the creature seized Sara.  
'Oh my God! Claire! Legolas help!' Sara screamed as the things slimy tentacle raised her ten feet in the air.  
'NOOO!' Screamed Claire. The fellowship rushed out and began hacking at the many flailing limbs. Legolas shot arrows at the tentacles holding Sara and Frodo. 'That's it!' Thought Claire. She drew her sword and rushed into the murky water. Tentacles flailed precariously all around her. She raised her sword and began to hack furiously at the 'arm' holding her friend.  
Sara screamed as the creature swung her round and dumped her upside down on the shore. Claire struggled back out of the water and seized her friend. They struggled towards the stone doors as Boromir caught Frodo.  
The group hurried inside as the creature ripped the doorway apart, causing a massive cave in, and blocking their only way back. The girls shivered and whimpered for a moment, clutching each other in shock, until they heard Gandalf's voice, and a light flared out of no-where.  
'We now have but one choice. We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs, in the deep places of the world.'  
  
*END!*  
  
A/N: Okay, hope everyone liked this chapter! Thank you so much for our wonderful reviews! Sara and I love you all! In reply to one review about the format, we are very sorry, but we are new to FFnet and don't know how to sort this problem out just yet! But rest assured when we do we will fix it! XOXOX 


	4. The Mines of Moria By Sara

Chapter 4: The Mines of Moria.  
  
The group walked through the entrance hall to the mines with an air of deep sorrow, Gimli just couldn't believe this, and the dwarves were once great people who could throw a banquet fit for several kings.  
  
Sara and Claire just walked through silently, knowing of what was to come they found they couldn't speak a word; they just gazed around at the bodies.  
  
Boromir stopped and waited for Claire to meet with him, she walked up slowly and looked up at him sadly, like a little puppy.  
  
"Do not worry, soon we will put a stop to this evil, once and for all!" he said to try and cheer her up.  
  
Sara was still shaken from her latest ordeal, and now this, things didn't seem to be getting any better, and to make things worse she knew of what was to come. They walked through the great halls almost in procession out of respect for the dead.  
  
"Can you see anymore of what is to come?" Frodo asked the girls.  
  
Claire looked at him for a moment, then she looked back at Sara who was staring at the ground, "no, unfortunately we can not see any further for the time being."  
  
Aragorn looked at them sceptically as if he thought that there was something these two virtual strangers knew that they weren't telling him.  
  
Claire fell behind with Sara again, "look on the bright side, without this there can be no Gandalf the white."  
  
"I know your write but they don't know that, and its gonna hit them hard, especially Frodo, he loves Gandalf." She said in a quite whisper, so that none of them could here what they were saying not even Legolas with his keen elf senses. The halls had a ghostly light that emanated from gandalfs staff, apart from that there was nothing but darkness throughout, which only added to the atmosphere.  
  
"We will have to keep on going and no one must let their guard down!" Aragorn called from in front of the group.  
  
They began to climb up. Rocks were tumbling everywhere and Sara's new elven cloak was in danger of being ripped on the sharp stone if she wasn't careful.  
  
"God I sure wish I'd tried harder in P.E" Sara said to Claire once they were over the top and back onto flat ground again.  
  
"Me too!" the girls were a little out of breath but they weren't the only ones, Gimli was also finding it hard and was the last too reach the top" Legolas went to offer him his hand.  
  
"No thanks, I can manage"  
  
The fellowship reached three passageways.  
  
"Are we lost?" Pippin asked  
  
"No" merry answered.  
  
"I think we are"  
  
"Shhh Gandalf's thinking!"  
  
Sara stifled a small giggle; they were all sitting on various rocks waiting for Gandalf to sniff out the right passageway for them to go down.  
  
"Merry"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm hungry"  
  
The whole group was hungry and they hadn't eaten since camping round the campfire. Claire walked over towards one of the entrances and took a deep breath through her nose, it was this one, she could smell fresh air, or at least fresher air than what was coming out of any of the other holes, but at this rate Gandalf wasn't going to realise for another half an hour.  
  
"Its this one!" Claire called.  
  
"How do you know?" Gandalf asked.  
  
"Because the air smells fresher down here."  
  
"How did you know to use your nose?"  
  
"Um...we are taught to rely on our scent where I come from"  
  
Gandalf eyed her suspiciously, Aragorn and Legolas laughed, Gandalf was not used to being outsmarted.  
  
Frodo walked over to the passage, "what is that?"  
  
"It is the creature Gollum" Gandalf replied, "he has been following us since we left Rivendell,"  
  
The fellowship walked over to see Gollum, it was only Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas who had seen this creature (Sara and Claire had seen him but only on the films) but he had gone.  
  
"Is he dangerous?" Frodo asked.  
  
"He only wants his precious, but he isn't very strong, and couldn't do us any harm.  
  
"We have been travelling for 4 hours now, how long will it take us to reach the end of these mines?" asked merry.  
  
"At least 4 days." Aragorn walked over to a clear spot, "we shall rest here, although one of us will have to stay on guard."  
  
Legolas volunteered himself for guard duty, and the rest tried to settle down on the uncomfortable stone floor, while Legolas sat on a rock listening for any sound, it was no use trying to find anything with his eyes, Gandalf's staff light had gone out and it was now near enough pitch blank in the mine.  
  
Legolas was sat there for a while listening hard, although Gimli and Gandalf's snore made things difficult to hear. He looked up, not far away a noise had been made, it sounded like someone stepping on bones, and he quietly lifted his bow and tip toed over to where he thought he had heard the noise.  
  
Sara was in a light sleep, when she was awoken by the same crunching noise that Legolas has gone off to investigate. She looked over to see where Legolas was and found him not there, she began to worry, although Legolas could take good care of himself, she knew he wasn't safe wondering around this place by himself so she picked up her bow, armed it with an arrow and walked off to try and find out where Legolas had disappeared to.  
  
Legolas walked around, listening for any sign of the thing that had made the first noise and there was another crunch, but this time it came from back closer to where they were all camping.  
  
Sara walked on, she had just stepped on something that had made a load noise, she continued to walk in search for the Elf and something was moving but what it was she didn't know.  
  
Legolas knew there was something out there now and he had his bow and arrow poised, ready to shoot down anything that moved, he was walking backwards now until he came to a large stone column, he rested his back up against it, if the thing was coming his way now he was sure to catch it.  
  
Sara was walking slowly, she knew that if she found anything, then she wasn't likely to hit it, but at least she could scare it off, she moved over to a stone column so that she could have the element of surprise if anything came her way.  
  
Legolas knew that whatever it was it was behind this stone column.  
  
Sara walked over to the column, she stopped a minute, she could here the sound of a bow being pulled back, something is behind there, she decided, so she decided to count to three in her head, and then attack, one...two...THREE she sprang round the side of the column and found herself face to face with an extremely sharp arrow. She gulped but then breathed a sigh of relief, it was Legolas, she looked at him as he lowered his weapon, "and I nearly shot you just then."  
  
"I would have hit you first" Legolas replied ruefully, although he was still concerned that he had heard something back there, it was probably gone by now.  
  
"I heard you mention something about me at the council of Elrond, but I didn't quite catch it, what was it you said?" Legolas asked innocently.  
  
"Um...um...nothing" Sara was grateful that it was dark otherwise he would have been able to see her blushing, although she sensed that he already knew what he said and was just playing with her.  
  
"All I managed to catch was 'god he's cute when he's angry'" he said, "Whom were you referring to?"  
  
"Um...I was referring to...um...no one!" she replied, she was now bright red.  
  
"It wasn't no one, who was it" he pressed.  
  
She gave up, she might as well tell him, he probably knew already, 'god Claire's gonna laugh her head of when she hears about this' she thought to herself, picturing the expression that her friend was most likely to have. "I was referring to you."  
  
"Oh, well I'm glad you think that I'm 'cute'"  
  
They had now reached the rest of the campers, Legolas went over and sat on his rock, Sara looked at him, he smiled, "are you going to go back to sleep?" he asked, "you'll need all your strength for tomorrow."  
  
"Nah, I'm not that tired, can I keep you company?"  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
She went over and sat by him, the pair were talking for hours about their opinions on everything from the weather to love, but it was not long before the others woke up and they started to attempt to make some sort of breakfast.  
  
Claire woke up and saw Sara with a grin on her face; she looked as if she had just experienced heaven.  
  
"Oh my god, what have you been up to?" Claire asked, getting up to go and join her friend.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Sara replied coyly.  
  
"Yeah right, spill!"  
  
"Well," Sara said, loving keeping her friend in suspense, "I just spent all night with the most amazing, gorgeous, talented and caring elf in the whole of middle earth."  
  
Claire's eyes widened. "I know what you're thinking, and no. We didn't get up to anything, we just talked." Sara said, reading her friends mind.  
  
Claire laughed out loud, not being able to stop herself, causing the group to look up, "Sara just told me a really funny joke." Claire said.  
  
"What was the joke?" said Sam coming over to them, "I could do with a laugh"  
  
Sara looked at Claire, who was smiling; she was getting revenge for yesterday.  
  
"Um, I don't want to bore you with my silly jokes, honestly its not worth hearing."  
  
Sam looked at her, Boromir came over to them, "I'd like to here it" he said  
  
"And us!" Merry and Pippin joined him.  
  
Sara was racking her brains to try and find a suitable joke to tell them all.  
  
"Ok, why did the chicken cross the road?" everyone looked puzzled by this, except Claire who was fighting to keep a straight face.  
  
"I don't know, why did the chicken cross the road?" asked Aragorn. Sara was now also fighting to stop herself from laughing insanely.  
  
"To get to the other side!" Sara couldn't stop herself, she burst out laughing along with Claire, and they were clutching their sides, whilst the rest of the fellowship just looked at them puzzled.  
  
"So where is the joke?" merry asked.  
  
"You have a strange sort of humour," said Gandalf.  
  
Sara looked at Claire, and started giggling again, it took the pair a few more minutes to calm themselves down, and Sara still had to bite her lip.  
  
The group packed up all their belongings, the girls didn't have much to carry because they were girls and therefore too good for that sort of thing.  
  
Claire was walking along, they would probably reach Balin's tomb today, she thought, this would be where they would fight the cave troll. Boromir walked with her, holding her round the waist protectively, they hadn't had chance yet to finish what they had started the other day, but as soon as they could get away for five minutes, she was going to drag him off, and...  
  
Sara walked along with Gimli; she was talking to the Dwarf about what the mines of Moria used to be like.  
  
"They were magnificent," he said "you could always rely on a Dwarf to show great hospitality, much better than anything any Elves could do"  
  
Legolas looked around at this, Sara looked at him and rolled her eyes. It was strange to think that these two would form the strongest friendship that there has ever been between a Dwarf and an Elf.  
  
Gandalf lit his staff again, and the room they were in suddenly appeared, Gimli gave a cry, just in front of them was a large stone coffin, Gandalf walked towards it to read the inscription on the top .  
  
"Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." He is dead then. It's as I feared." Gandalf handed his staff and hat to Claire and Pippin.  
  
Gimli was looking at the tomb, he muttered a small prayer to himself, "Kilmin malur ni zaram kalil ran arag. Kheled-zâram. Balin tazlifi."  
  
"What does that mean?" Sara asked Claire.  
  
"I'm not sure" she replied, the group was silent for a minute.  
  
Legolas looked around the room, "we must move on we can't stay here"  
  
The room was littered with the bodies of dead orcs and Dwarves.  
  
Gandalf walked over to where a small book, possibly a diary lay, he read aloud what it said on the page, "They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming."  
  
Claire walked over and noticed Pippin stood by a well, he was looking at a skeleton and he reached out to touch it and it fell into the well along with a bucket, making a loud noise as it went any hopes they had of passing through unnoticed were now dashed. Gandalf looked furious.  
  
'Poor Pippin' Claire thought, all the poor hobbit wanted was to have a decent meal, and rest in a nice bed, in fact that was what they all wanted, but the hobbits were not used to this sort of life, and obviously weren't going to get used to it for a long while.  
  
"Fool of a took, throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity!" Gandalf said scornfully.  
  
Sara looked worried, she knew exactly what was about to happen, and she walked over to where Legolas and Aragorn were stood.  
  
"What if we are attacked?" she asked him, "I don't think I am a good enough fighter to defend myself or anyone else"  
  
"Don't worry, I will not let anything happen to you." The elf said this with such certainty that she felt completely reassured, she wanted to hug him, but she did not know how he would react to physical contact.  
  
There was a rumble and the room almost felt like it was shaking, everyone's eyes turned towards the door. Frodo pulled his sword out of its sheath, it was glowing blue; orcs were coming.  
  
"Frodo!" Sam shouted, he realised what this meant and went over to guard his friend.  
  
Boromir walked over to the door and two arrows were shot in.  
  
"Boromir!" Claire shouted, she went to run over towards him but was stopped by Aragorn. He looked at her, "get back, stay close to Gandalf!" he ordered  
  
But there was no way he could stop Claire she ducked under his arm and ran towards Boromir, taking out her sword, ready to fight any on coming evil.  
  
Sara was stood over in the corner with the hobbits, behind Gandalf, who had also drawn his sword.  
  
"They have a cave troll" Boromir was now putting a thick plank of wood across the door to hold them, but they all knew that this would not hold for long.  
  
"Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria that still draws breath." Gimli shouted defiantly.  
  
At that moment the Orcs bust through the door, and came at them, brandishing swords and bows.  
  
They fought them; Sara even managed to get a few good shots of her arrows, to which Legolas shot her a gorgeous smile.  
  
At Boromir's side, stood Claire slashing at the Orcs with accuracy and precision, if this wasn't so life threatening then it would be fun, she thought.  
  
Then the ground began to shake, as something large and monstrous approached; the cave troll.  
  
The troll was hideous it had a face that looked like he had been hit by a frying pan a few times, and he was holding a huge club that looked as if it could knock out ten men at a time.  
  
Sam was stood over by the tomb, using his knife to stab an Orc, "I think I'm getting the hang of this!" he shouted, then he looked up at the troll, and the poor little hobbit looked as if he was going to wet himself. The troll went for Frodo, and dragged him across the stone floor.  
  
"Frodo!" Sara, Aragorn and Claire shouted.  
  
"Aragorn, Aragorn, ARAGORN!" Frodo could do nothing to stop this creature; it was too strong.  
  
Claire ran over towards the troll, getting ready to shoot it with an arrow, she aimed for it's chest, but before she could release the arrow, it looked straight at her, and grabbed her with its gigantic hands, and tossed her against the wall, she slid down and lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.  
  
Sara had just watched this happened, she looked horrified, she wanted to go and make sure that Claire was all right, but she couldn't get to her.  
  
Aragorn was preparing to attack, he went straight for its chest and stabbed it, the troll looked at its new wound for a second, and then carried on attacking, the sword hadn't even been able to pierce it's thick skin.  
  
Aragorn had rescued Frodo from the troll, before he stabbed it, but the troll now swung for him and knocked him over to the side, Frodo ran over to check on Aragorn. Sara looked over her shoulder, she saw Frodo going over to Aragorn, she knew what was going to happen next, "Frodo, noooooooooooo!" she screamed, but it was too late, the troll hurled a huge spear at Frodo piercing his body, Merry and Pippin jumped on the trolls back attacking him with all their might. It took Sara a few minutes to remember that it couldn't hurt him because of the Mithril coat that Bilbo had given him at Rivendell.  
  
She ran over to Claire, Boromir was knelt by her side, he had propped her head up with his cloak, Sara looked at him, "have you checked for a pulse?" she asked.  
  
Legolas shot and arrow at the troll, it crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Aragorn crawled over to where Frodo lay unconscious. He rolled him over, "oh no" he whispered.  
  
"He's alive!"  
  
"It's alright I'm not hurt" he said opening his eyes, everyone who was watching him looked shocked, it was only Sara and Boromir that were not with Frodo, they were tending to Claire.  
  
Aragorn couldn't believe his eyes, "You should be dead. That spear would have skewered a wild boar." He said with disbelief. Frodo sat up.  
  
"I think there is more to this hobbit than meets the eye!" Frodo revealed the coat.  
  
"Mithril, you are full of surprises master Baggins!" said Gimli.  
  
"I think you had better go and check that Claire is alright."  
  
They all got up and walked over to where Claire was still lying. Sara put her index finger under Claire's jaw line to check for a pulse, "she's alive! But she's not breathing, we have to revive her, quick!"  
  
Aragorn looked to Gandalf, "I'm not able to treat humans with magic." He replied.  
  
"We have to do something! There is no way on this planet that I am leaving this place until she is awake, Sara knew that if she was left for too long then she would possibly slip into a coma, or worse...die.  
  
"Right that's it, Boromir, do you know how to resuscitate someone?"  
  
The group looked puzzled at this, they obviously didn't have any conventional methods of reviving a person.  
  
"No, I'm afraid I don't." he said sadly  
  
"ok, all you have to do is breathe into her mouth, ok? I'll do the rest."  
  
"ok"  
  
Boromir bent down and breathed precious air into Claire's mouth, Sara felt Claire's hand move, "She's awake!" Sara screamed.  
  
Claire's eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring straight into Boromir's, he lifted her up on to her feet, and kept his hand round her to keep her steady.  
  
"Are you alright?" Sara asked Claire, sounding concerned.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine" the two girls hugged.  
  
"Don't scare me like that again, ok?"  
  
Claire nodded. She tried to walk, but she felt too dizzy, Aragorn came over to her and supported her on one side with Boromir on the other, and they walked.  
  
There was another noise. "More Orcs are coming." Said Legolas.  
  
"To the bridge of Khazad-dûm!" shouted Gandalf.  
  
They all ran into a great hallway, but soon Moria was filled with Orcs, and they were completely surrounded. There was a strange noise coming from one direction, and a red glow appeared on the walls, the Orcs saw this and turned fleeing from this new monster.  
  
"The Balrog." Whispered Claire.  
  
Aragorn heard this, his eyes widened in shock.  
  
Legolas was holding up his bow ready to fight this evil, but he soon lowered it, realising that a simple arrow would not stop this great beast.  
  
"What is this new devilry?" asked Boromir, he had obviously not heard what Claire had said.  
  
"A Balrog. A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!" Shouted Gandalf.  
  
Claire could not run, and if Boromir and Aragorn kept supporting her like this then they would be too slow, so Boromir swept her up in his arms and ran.  
  
They all fled, running as fast as they could, Gandalf fell behind.  
  
"Gandalf!" Aragorn shouted.  
  
"Lead them on, Aragorn. The bridge is near." Aragorn did not move, Gandalf shoved him on, "do as I say! Swords are no more use here"  
  
The stone was beginning to crumble, and there was a gap in the bridge, Legolas jumped over it easily, and turned around and signaled for Gandalf to jump. Next it was the turn of Merry and pippin, boromir took one under each arm and jumped, as they were in mid-jump some more of the bridge crumbled away and Legolas had to pull them over to get them to safety. Next it was Sara's turn, she took a running jump, and nearly missed the edge, if it wasn't for Legolas catching her, she would have fell to her doom, they shared a brief moment. Aragorn next threw Sam across, the poor hobbit made it across safely.  
  
Aragorn turned to Gimli, "nobody tosses a dwarf!" he said backing away from Aragorn, the little dwarf jumped on his own, but nearly fell off, Legolas grabbed his beard to pull him back on "oh no, not the beard!" he shouted.  
  
Claire was the next one to go, she jumped and cleared the gap easily, but hit the ground hard, Boromir rushed to her side to make sure she was alright.  
  
The last to go were Aragorn and Frodo, the bridge looked like it could collapse any minute, Aragorn grabbed Frodo by the back of his shirt, they prepared to jump, "ready, hold on!" shouted Aragorn. The rock began to sway, "Hang on!" some more of the rock fell away, they had to go soon, "lean forward, steady!" Aragorn jumped, they made it barely.  
  
"Come on, now!" shouted Legolas.  
  
"Over the bridge, fly!" said Gandalf, Gandalf was stood in the middle of the bridge, he had turned to face the Balrog, he turned around to see that the others had waited for him, they were on the other side of the bridge, and Gandalf was stood in the middle.  
  
"Gandalf, NO!" Sara shouted, but it was no use, this had to happen.  
  
"You cannot pass!" shouted Gandalf to the great beast, it had reached them, and was stood in front of the wizard, making him look small in comparison.  
  
"Gandalf!" screamed Frodo.  
  
"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor! The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun! Arrghh! Go back to the Shadow!! YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!" the bridge broke at his final line, and it gave way, taking the Balrog with it. Gandalf sighed and turned around. Sara and Claire exchanged scared looks. They saw a whip of fire spring up from the deep, it wrapped itself around Gandalf's ankle and pulled him to his doom, he grabbed on to the edge to stop himself but the girls knew it was no use.  
  
"Gandalf!" Frodo tried to run to help Gandalf but Boromir stopped him.  
  
Gandalf was hanging on to the edge, "fly you fools" he muttered and let go of the bridge, falling into the dark abyss.  
  
"No, No!" shouted Frodo, Boromir had to pick him up to stop going to throw himself over the gap as well .  
  
The fellowship emerged from Moria in shock, they didn't seem to stand a chance now.  
  
*END* 


	5. Lothlorien By Claire

Ch 5. Lothlorien.  
  
The Fellowship ran into to woods as fast as their exhausted legs would carry them. Sara and Claire were shocked at themselves. They had known Gandalf would fall all along, but that hadn't stopped them crying uncontrollably when they escaped from Moria and seen the faces of the Hobbits in their grief.  
  
The girls walked in silence, barely taking in their surroundings, until they came face to face with some very sharp arrows. As they knew what to expect, the girls didn't panic, or even speak. Haldir took them to a flet to hide, when they had been given the all clear and the pursuing Orcs had been dealt with, they were taken to the lady of light.  
  
Sara and Claire walked the whole way up the never-ending flight of steps to the large flet on which Galadriel and Celeborn waited in total silence. The entire Fellowship was subdued, but the girls had the added fear that Galadriel would discover them for the frauds they were, or worse, accuse them of bringing about the events that led to Gandalf's death, and letting him die on purpose.  
  
'What do you think she'll do to us?' Sara asked, her voice shaking.  
  
'We, we didn't do anything wrong. She won't do anything.' Claire whispered back. 'Will she?'  
  
Sara gave her friend an incredulous look. 'I thought you thought she wouldn't!' Claire shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably, but her retort was cut off by the Fellowships sudden halt. They were there.  
  
The group looked on in revered silence at the two figures descending before them. Their bodies had a strange glow about them, and the lady of the light truly lived up to her name. Celeborn spoke of Gandalf, and Galadriel answered his question for him and began to give her own words of wisdom. Sara and Claire watched her and calculated what she was saying to each Fellowship member as she spoke. But they were caught quite off guard when she turned and looked directly at them.  
  
Galadriel gazed into the girls eyes one after the other, she said nothing, but they heard her voice as clear as day. 'You are not of this world. Yet you know what will befall the fellowship when even I cannot perceive this in its entirety. I can see no evil in your hearts, so I will allow you to proceed on this path. Take care, there is hope, but you must believe in it to survive.'  
  
Claire nodded grimly, whilst Sara hung her head. They exchanged a look and both made a mental note to check she had spoken the same words to both, but that would have to wait until they found somewhere they could be alone, they had much to discus.  
  
*****  
  
The girls rejoined the Fellowship after they had dressed in the garments the Lorien Elves had provided them with. The girls would quite happily have stayed in Lothlorien forever if it meant keeping their incredibly beautiful dresses.  
  
Sara's dress suited her perfectly. It was a cream coloured dress with a corset type bodice, with gold laces crossing over themselves on the front, and a gold satin skirt. The skirt had see-through floaty cream coloured material over top, and long, belled-out sleeves. Her hair had been expertly braided with gold ribbons, and seemed even more shiny and beautiful than usual. It seemed as if this dress had been made for her.  
  
Claire's dress was white with silver along the neck line and the ends of the sleeves. The sleeves were fitted as far as a point to her middle finger, but a light blue floaty material fell from the underside in a bell like fashion. It appeared as if the dress was adorned with a loose silver belt, but it was really part of the dress itself, and split it down the front from below the waist to reveal a light blue material underneath. Her hair was loose and fell softly around her face and shoulders, glistening in the light from the great Mallorns.  
  
The group sat at the base of one of the huge Mallorn trees. Claire beckoned to Sara and they quietly slipped behind the huge trunk to be alone.  
  
'Did you hear her?'  
  
'Yep.'  
  
'Did she say about knowing where we come from and still letting us go on?'  
  
'Yep.'  
  
Claire sighed. 'Maybe this was a mistake, I mean; we could already have changed things without even realizing, like an outward ripple on the surface of an otherwise calm lake.' Claire began to pace.  
  
'You worry too much.' Sara sat down on one of the huge roots.  
  
'Well one of us has to consider our actions!' Sara raised her eyebrows at Claire's sudden out burst. Claire looked at her then sat down with a thump on the neighbouring root.  
  
'I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to be a bitch.' Claire put her head in her hands.  
  
'It's okay; we're all upset about Gandalf, that's all.' Sara said softly.  
  
'No! No it's not okay! You saved my life back there! I don't know anyone as brave or caring as you, and how do I show my thanks? By shouting at you! I'm just, I'm sorry.' Sara put her arm round her friend as she began to cry.  
  
'What's really wrong?' Sara looked sternly at her friend, it was the 'no excuses' look that always made her cave in.  
  
'It was so hard losing Gandalf, even though we know he's going to come back, what about...'  
  
'Boromir?' Claire nodded. 'Well how do think I feel? The man I want is an elf! How's that supposed to work out? He gets to live forever and I get... nothing.' It was Sara's turn to put her head in her hands. The girls sat in silence for a minute before they stood up and hugged.  
  
'At least we're in this together. And no matter what happens, all we can do is survive.' Sara spoke with a wise voice. Claire giggled for a moment.  
  
'Y'know, if we do survive this, we'll get to see Aragorn being crowned, and we might even be able to travel Middle Earth. Properly I mean, maybe we'll even get to go to Mirkwood.' Claire winked at Sara. 'Oh and I'd love to see the Lonely mountain!'  
  
'Yeh! And the Shire!' Sara and Claire forgot their troubles as they discussed the future, rather than the past. But as they returned to the rest of their friends they mood became considerably darker. The girls found their high wearing off. Claire decided a short work would do her good, and made her excuses. Sara sat next to Merry and Pippin and Watched Legolas wander around.  
  
She didn't notice as his eyes took in her outfit, and inside he thought what a wonderful Princess she would make, mortal or no.  
  
*****  
  
Boromir wandered down the slope until he found a small stream, stood over it was the only dark-haired elf-maiden he had seen since Rivendell. Her white dress billowed in a slight breeze and the silver trim glistened. As the woman turned to face him Boromir's breath caught in his throat. It was no elf, it was Claire.  
  
'Boromir.' She gasped. He walked slowly over to her. 'Have you spoken to Aragorn?'  
  
'How did you..?' He began to ask, but then realized she had probably seen this in advance. A question that had been in the back of his mind since their escape from Moria pushed its way to the surface. 'Did you know Gandalf was going to fall?'  
  
Claire's eyes filled with tears, he couldn't know the truth. 'Not until it was too late.'  
  
'And you knew of my, particular, conversation with Aragorn.' He seemed to be pondering this fact. Claire waited with baited breath, shaking all over as she considered the conclusions he may reach with this information, the conclusions about her.  
  
'Why did you let it happen?' He asked evenly.  
  
Claire stood for a moment in silence. 'You need to understand Boromir.' She looked at him and tried not to the meaning behind her words become obvious. 'What happened, what will happen, is all meant to be. No matter how much I may want to change something, I can't. Because that could change everything.'  
  
'If you tell me our hope is not in vain, I will believe you.' He whispered.  
  
Claire nodded slightly, she couldn't form words. Boromir brushed some hair of her cheek and she felt herself letting go. She didn't think of what was to come, she thought only of what was now.  
  
As she kissed him everything seemed unimportant, Boromir drew her closer and they seemed lost in one another, where nothing from the outside world mattered.  
  
*****  
  
Legolas looked sadly at the hobbits, then at Sara. He spoke of the lament to Gandalf, and his pain. She held his gaze for a moment, but could not bear to see his sadness any longer. She stood and ran from the group, along a path, down a bank, over a small bridge... 'Oh great, now I'm lost!' she thought angrily.  
  
'Sara?' Legolas's soft voice sounded so close behind her it made her jump.  
  
'I didn't hear you follow me.'  
  
'I had to. You are suffering like the rest of us. I know you blame yourself for Gandalf's death.' Sara looked startled by this.  
  
'You don't understand...' She tried to speak but Legolas cut her off with a long, passionate kiss.  
  
'I understand what I need to.' He whispered as he pulled away. Sara stood stunned for a few minutes, her mind momentarily disconnected from her body.  
  
'I thought, I thought you didn't see me that way.' She whispered.  
  
'You have much to learn about elves, but I would gladly spend a lifetime teaching you.'  
  
Sara felt her heart flutter wildly. They walked hand in hand in silence for a moment until they came to a beautiful archway with flowers wound around it. Legolas stopped here and asked her something that made her go cold.  
  
'After this is all over, whatever the outcome, will you... will you be leaving Middle Earth?'  
  
Sara froze, she had not even thought of what she would do after. 'I don't know. I don't even know if I can.' Sara frowned. 'I have to talk to Claire.' She decided. As she made to leave Legolas put a hand on her arm to stop her.  
  
'If you stay, you will always be welcome in Mirkwood.' The two looked at each other for a moment.  
  
'I know. The question is, will I be able to stay when all this is over, I never even thought about it until now.' Sara sighed and let Legolas hold her for a moment; the feel of his body was comforting.  
  
Sara realized she really should find the answer to her question, and decided she would find Claire, rather than try and solve it on her own. She made to leave, despite Legolas's puppy-dog-eyes, but Legolas grabbed her and pushed her against the archway, kissing her passionately. Sara decided her conversation with Claire could wait, at least a little while.  
  
*****  
  
'Hey.'  
  
'Hey.'  
  
Sara slumped down next to Claire on a soft patch of grass. The girls were equally torn by their predicaments.  
  
'Legolas kissed me.' Sara said dreamily. 'Just like in 'From Hell'.'  
  
'Lucky Bitch.' Claire laughed and elbowed her friend. The girls sat in reflective silence for a moment. 'You go girl! I'm really happy for you.' Claire said sincerely. Her manner was far less burdened than it had been, but she kept her own secrets, at least for now.  
  
'We need to speak to Galadriel again. Something's been bothering me since we set off.' Sara sighed.  
  
'I know.'  
  
Half an hour later the girls once again stood on the high flet of the Lord and Lady of the Lorien Elves. Galadriel looked meaningfully at Celeborn, and within a moment he and all the other elves that had sat in the hall with them had left, leaving the girls alone with the Lady of the light.  
  
'You want to know of your stay here, if it is permanent.' Galadriel said before either of them opened their mouth. The girls simply nodded.  
  
'I can not tell you this. The truth is, young ones, your arrival here was unexpected, but it was not unseen. The way here was discovered by you, as will be the way back. But you and only you can discover it, when it is time.'  
  
Galadriel would not say anything else, and answered their questions in such a vague manner she left them more confused than satisfied. But she assured them they would understand when it was time to.  
  
Later that night the girls wandered gravely what the future would bring to them, and both felt a slight stab of guilt as they watched Frodo sneak off to follow Galadriel to her mirror. They realized Frodo was from then on alone, even with Sam at his side. He would always be alone with his burden.  
  
*****  
  
As the fellowship prepared to depart, Galadriel came to them and presented them with gifts for the journey ahead.  
  
To Merry and Pippin she gave silver belts, with clasps wrought like golden flowers.  
  
To Legolas a bow such as the Galadhrim use, and quiver with arrows to match.  
  
To Boromir she gave a belt of gold.  
  
To Aragorn a sheath for his sword, overlaid with a tracery of flowers and leaves wrought of silver and gold, and on it were Elvin runes set of many gems. Also a beautiful Green gem, shaped as an eagle with spread wings.  
  
To Samwise some elfish rope, and some dirt from her gardens in a small box.  
  
To Frodo a small phial, the light of Earendil, beloved star of the elves.  
  
To Sara and Claire she gave two beautiful gifts that took their breaths away. Two beautiful pendants that reminded the girls of the Evenstar, each suited their owner and gave them an ethereal quality. Both had a twisting stem of green, Sara's the darker, each with two leaves. Sara's had four dark pink petals with light green petals protruding behind them. Set in the centre was a beautiful round clear gem, about 1cm squared in size, with a clear light that seemed to shine from within. Claire's had five blue petals, each set with three minute pearls at their centre and a diamond in the centre of the flower. The gem was similar to Sara's, only it glowed with a more pearly light.  
  
The girls bowed gratefully as they admired their gifts. When Gimli requested a strand of Galadriel's hair, the girls smiled.  
  
A little while later and the Fellowship was paddling down the river in their elfish boats, Aragorn, Claire, Frodo and Sam in one, Boromir, Merry, Pippin and most of the supplies in another, and Sara, Legolas and Gimli in another. Sara looked most pleased about this.  
  
*****  
  
Claire looked fondly at her smug looking friend as they exchanged a thumbs- up.  
  
'What is the meaning of that gesture?' Asked Sam.  
  
'Oh! It's basically saying, well done, or all is well. Pretty much along those lines.' She smiled. The boats were close enough for the whole group to have a conversation at this point, and Claire quickly decided to use this opportunity to tease her friend.  
  
'So, are you planning to repeat the whole, Johnny Depp/Heather Graham scene then?' She giggled.  
  
Sara went bright red. 'That's none of your business!'  
  
'What do you mean?' Asked Merry innocently.  
  
Claire sniggered. 'Keep your mouth shut you cow!' Sara shrieked through a fit of giggles.  
  
'Don't call me a cow, you Bitch!' Claire laughed. The rest of the group just looked at them with puzzled expressions.  
  
'I do not think it is becoming of a lady to insult her friend.' Aragorn frowned.  
  
'It's alright Aragorn. We're just playing.' Claire smiled them stuck her tongue out at Sara.  
  
'Where we come from this behavior is considered acceptable.' Sara nodded solemnly then started to giggle again. The girls had lightened the mood for now, but all too soon it seemed they were pulling into shore to camp for the night. Soon they would reach the falls of Rauros, and the breaking of the Fellowship.  
  
*End*  
  
A/N: hi this is amazing author #1 (soz hun) the writer of this chapter is amazing author #2, but anyway I have a small request to any fans or interested readers of this story REVIEW!!!!!!!!! If you don't review then we don't know if what we are writing is any good and therefore we won't know to continue writing so for god's sake REVIEW!!!!!!!! 


	6. The Breaking of the Fellowship and the D...

Disclaimer: we don't own it, don't sue, blah blah blah.  
  
A/N: PLEASE read and REVIEW people!!! I am sooooo sorry it has taken so long to post this, but with the evil exam cloud of doom hovering over my head it has been rather hard to concentrate as of late. I apologise for submitting you all to two Claire (AA #2) chapters in a row, but Sara will be doing the next two chapters; or just one really long one, she hasn't decided yet. Any way enough of my babble! Please read on and enjoy!  
  
Ch 6. The Breaking of the Fellowship and the Departure of Boromir.  
  
The swift elvish boats drifted calmly down the large river. The going had been uneventful since leaving Lothlorien, but every now and then the two friends exchanged knowing glances, and Claire shivered as Boromir muttered to himself. By the time they drew into shore for the night, Sara had even stopped trying to engage Legolas in conversation.  
  
The Fellowship was sleeping around a small fire on the shore one night when Claire and Sara slipped off into the trees.  
  
'This is it, decision time.' Whispered Sara.  
  
'You mean which way do we go?'  
  
'Yep, I vote with the elf, the man and the dwarf. Agreed?'  
  
Claire sighed. 'Sure.' Sara put a comforting hand on her friends shoulder.  
  
'It's for the best you know.'  
  
'I know. But it still hurts.' Claire sighed and pulled her Sindarin reader from her pack. Sara pondered this as her friend skimmed through her book. She had not yet considered what would happen when the war was over, when everyone, including Legolas, went their separate ways.  
  
They made their way back to the camp. Another night passed without event, and the day following. The next evening they were pulled into shore once again.  
  
The group sat in silence. The days light was failing. Sara was fishing through her bag for something and Claire was cautiously reading her Sindarin dictionary, not wanting to be discovered.  
  
'Eureka!' Sara shouted, punching the air in triumph.  
  
The entire group stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Pippin's mouth hung half open, mid-chew.  
  
'Sorry.' Sara sat down quickly, her face beetroot red.  
  
'What are you playing at?' Claire hissed, unable to hide a smirk.  
  
Sara held up a small purple rectangle and waved it smugly in her friends face. This was shortly followed by a mad race around the camp with squeals of 'Give it to me!', 'No! It's mine!' and 'Share or I'll drown you!'  
  
Aragorn seized Claire by her shoulders and held her firmly in place. She stopped struggling when she saw his expression. Sara stood triumphantly on the other side of the fire and gloated at her friend.  
  
'What is the meaning of this?' Aragorn demanded. Boromir was eyeing him and when he made no sign of releasing Claire he stood and began to walk over, but Aragorn released her when he saw this.  
  
'She has chocolate and she isn't sharing!' Claire pouted and stamped over to Boromir. He had resumed his seat and she planted herself firmly next to him.  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow and went to sit next to Legolas. The girls stared at each other.  
  
'And what, may I ask, is chocolate?' Asked Gimli.  
  
The girls looked at him so sharply he blushed. They scanned the circle to find every face showing the same blank or curious expression. The awful reality hit them; the fellowship had never tasted chocolate.  
  
After about two minutes of the girls staring and mouthing silently Aragorn and Legolas were seriously discussing fetching some water from the river with which to wake them from their trance like state. Upon hearing this though the girls were able to snap themselves out of it.  
  
'Goheno nin.' Claire muttered. Legolas, Aragorn, Boromir and even Frodo were looking at her a little shocked. They soon looked more amused, and Aragorn and Legolas exchanged a glance and tilted their heads in acknowledgement.  
  
'What the heck did you say to them?' Sara hissed.  
  
'Forgive me, that's all I swear. They don't know the extent of my Sindarin so it was probably just a surprise.'  
  
Legolas smiled as the girls spoke quietly to each other, he could hear them as plain as day.  
  
'So, you've really never heard of Chocolate?' Sara asked incredulously. The group shook their heads.  
  
'But surely you have something similar?' Claire gawked.  
  
'If we knew what it was, perhaps we could say we do.' Sam said irritably. Claire and Sara formed a conspiratorial huddle just away from the group. After much arguing they returned. Claire looking mischievous and Sara looking not a little dejected.  
  
'We have decided to let you all try a piece.' Claire smiled. Sara scowled. It was her only bar. Luckily though, it was king size.  
  
Several moments later and the entire Fellowship were sat in utter silence around the campfire, pondering the many wonders of chocolate.  
  
Upon tasting, Gimli had promptly thrown his piece on the ground and stamped on it, cursing in Dwarvish and muttering something about 'so sweet, teeth screaming...'  
  
Legolas had a similar opinion of chocolate, but had had enough dignity to pass it quietly back to Sara, trying his hardest to keep his face impassive.  
  
The hobbits had all taken to it delightfully and were happily munching on their third piece each, forth for Pippin.  
  
Boromir had not enjoyed it either, but the funniest reaction had to be Aragorn's. He had swiftly begun choking. A few more chunks of chocolate and the Heimlich maneuver later, and only four (not including Sara and Claire) members of the fellowship had enjoyed their first taste of a modern food substance. 'Oh well...' Sara thought; there was always coffee, candy floss, Jelly bellys...  
  
Sara stood on the shore in nervous readiness; they had reached Amon Hen, she had recognized it instantly.  
  
'You should rest.' Legolas stood beside her. Sara let out a breath of relief.  
  
'No. It isn't right here; I don't want to be caught off guard.'  
  
'Then you have felt it also. The Shadow.' Legolas looked at her gravely. She nodded, her gaze shifting to the steady water and the roaring of the distant falls.  
  
'Something is coming. Soon. Isn't it?' He whispered.  
  
Sara swallowed, her throat tight, she nodded slowly. Legolas's jaw was set, his eyes grim. The majesty of the Eldar made him terrible in this moment, and Sara could not look at him.  
  
'When this dark thing comes, stay as far from the danger as possible.' Legolas said decidedly. Sara blinked.  
  
'Excuse me?'  
  
'Leave the fighting to the men, the dwarf and myself. Stay with the Hobbits and keep out of harms way.  
  
'Oh no! You are NOT going all protective boyfriend on me!' Sara fumed. It wasn't until she noticed Legolas's raised eyebrows and the silence from the camp behind her did she realize how loud she had spoken. She closed her eyes and counted to five. When she opened them again Aragorn had joined them.  
  
'Something wrong?' He asked quietly. Legolas and Sara looked at each other for a moment. Then Legolas shook his head and returned to the others. Aragorn nodded to Sara and they followed.  
  
She sat next to Sam, who was looking thoroughly exhausted. 'Poor little hobbit' she thought. He looked at her and gave her a sad smile. Without thinking Sara pulled him into a tight embrace. When she let him go he looked at her and blushed a little.  
  
'What was that for?' He asked.  
  
'You deserve it.' Sara said softly. 'You'll see.'  
  
Half an hour later Sara's heart dropped into her stomach as Legolas and Aragorn stood surveying the trees, and Merry returned with firewood. It was time. Sara's heart stopped beating as she realized, Claire was no-where to be seen.  
  
'Boromir!'  
  
Boromir whipped round. He looked sweaty and pale, and positively furious that he had been caught leaving camp.  
  
'I know why you go this way, and what it is you plan to do.' Claire said quietly, almost inaudibly. 'Please, Boromir, I'm begging you, don't do it, don't leave me.'  
  
He eyed her for a minute and she stood frozen to the spot. Claire found it impossible to tell if Boromir was about to burst into tears or stab her. They had already wandered a long way from the camp, and it would take even Legolas long enough to locate her if she screamed. Slowly Boromir's expression softened and he walked towards her. She sighed with relief as he drew her into an embrace and whispered in her ear.  
  
'Forgive me.'  
  
Claire opened her eyes, his tone was not right and his body was rigid and shaking. She pulled back sharply but Boromir quickly pulled her into a deep kiss.  
  
When she drew back she saw the truth in his eyes and felt her own burn with tears. Boromir took a step back and brought his sword down with accurate strength. Claire's body crumpled and she lay motionless on the earth before him.  
  
Boromir knelt down and kissed her brow tenderly. 'Forgive me.' He whispered once more.  
  
He stood and walked away into the forest, wiping away what trace of tears had stained his face. There was only one thing he had left to do; take the ring; and then he could return to Gondor with pride, and hand to his Father the thing that would save them all.  
  
Claire stumbled through the forest blindly; there was a thumping pain in her head where the hilt of Boromir's sword had connected and a thick line of blood trickled down the side of her face. She tried to make her way towards the noise as quickly as she could. She didn't even stop to consider what the noise was. Clashing of metal on metal, war cries, death cries...  
  
'CLAIRE!' Sara screamed. She rushed over to her friend and examined her head. 'It's not that bad.' Her voice was uncertain and shakey.  
  
'Boromir!' Claire tried to explain but her friend stopped her.  
  
'He's already tried to take it, the Uruk-hai are here.' Sara's voice was higher than usual. 'You'd best get out your sword or else you could find yourself in a sticky situation. Come on, we have to help.'  
  
The two girls rushed towards the top of the hill, panting, their swords held ready, though the weight of them made their arms weary. The first time they ever saw a true Uruk-hai in real life, it was a sight they would never forget. The Uruk charged them, heavy sword raised above its head. In a split second of panic Sara ducked and thrust her sword into the beast's gut. It screeched before falling to the ground, convulsing wildly before laying still. Claire looked at her friend, breathing heavily. Sara wrenched her sword from the creature and nodded at her friend. They let out a cry as one and charged the nearest enemy.  
  
Steel sliced through flesh and clashed against more steel. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were not far away, Claire could see them now, she ducked another blow and sliced an Uruks belly. As she turned an Uruk-hai loomed over her, snarling triumphantly. Then, with a sickening slice, thud, thump, the Uruk-hais head left its neck and rolled across the ground, followed by its body. Sara grinned at her friend, they hi-fived and continued to fight.  
  
Sara was avoiding a nasty Uruk-hai when she turned and found one behind her; she felt the blow before her mind even registered the Uruk had raised its sword. She fell to her knees, not even noting the noise that meant only one thing.  
  
'The horn of Gondor!' Legolas cried. The Uruk-hai disappeared towards the sound.  
  
Claire was torn, she was about to run after them, panic in her face, when she saw the figure kneeling on the ground, panting and grasping her side... 'Oh no.' She breathed, all the noise stopped and for a split second the panic took over and she stood, catatonic. She was snapped back into action as Legolas and Gimli disappeared after the Uruk-hai and Sara screamed at her. She ducked just in time to miss the Uruk-hais sword and retaliate with her own swift stroke.  
  
Without even thinking Claire ran to her friend, hoisted her up under her arms and pulled an arm over her shoulders. The two stumbled away from the battle, struggling down the back to the shore.  
  
As they reached the waters edge the boat was retreating towards the opposite bank. 'That's it then.' Claire whispered. 'The Fellowship has broken, I couldn't save him.'  
  
Sara knelt on the ground, heaving and panting. With one hand she tried to steady herself whilst clutching her side with the other. Claire helped her into a sitting position, trying not to flinch as her friend cried out in pain. She moved her hand a few inched to inspect the injury. It was bad. A long, though thankfully shallow slash across her abdomen.  
  
Claire found her pack and began to search desperately for a bandage of some sort. Both girls screamed in unison as someone addressed them from behind.  
  
Aragorn looked a little shocked until his eyes moved to the blood on Sara's tunic and Claire's hands. Sara tried to move away as he knelt before her.  
  
'I'm alright, really! Nothing a plaster can't hold!' Aragorn frowned over this last expression but ignored her pleas, inspecting the wound. Claire hurried back with the bandages and balm she had had stored in her pack.  
  
'Will these do?' She asked him. He nodded but could not hide a gasp as she produced a handful of dried Athelas. 'And this?'  
  
'Where did you learn..?' He began but clearly decided this was no time for questions. He shook his head and poured some water from his flask over the wound. Sara drew a sharp breath.  
  
'Where is Legolas?' She asked suddenly, seizing Aragorn's hand. He looked slightly annoyed but answered none the less.  
  
'He and Gimli are fetching Boromir.' He broke off as Claire gave a small sob. His own expression heavy with emotion. 'Of course' he thought, they would have known, and soon enough he would confirm it.  
  
'I don't want him to see me like this.' Sara whispered. Aragorn was taken aback, but after a moment he nodded and began to bandage her wound as quickly and carefully as he could.  
  
They sat in silence, but for the occasional sharp drawing of breath from Sara. Claire stood on lookout for Legolas and Gimli, but her eyes were unfocussed. Silent tears stained her cheeks and her arms hung limply at her side, her back hunched over as she sat on a small boulder.  
  
'She and Boromir...' Aragorn began quietly.  
  
'She knew it could never be. That she shouldn't get attached, but she just...' Sara's eyes began to well up. Aragorn looked at her in a new light in that moment.  
  
'You have a lot of love for your friends. Several times you have proven your courage and honour. And I am honoured to call myself your companion on this road.'  
  
Sara sat in stunned silence as he pulled her tunic down and helped her to her feet. It still hurt, but the athelas and another dressing Aragorn had used deadened most of the pain. She could not find the words to reply to him so instead she bowed low, remembering something she had read.  
  
'Le hannon, Hir nin.'  
  
Aragorn smiled but the smile did not reach his eyes. 'You're welcome.'  
  
The five stood around the boat as the pilled the weapons of the enemy at the feet of their friend. They each said their goodbyes. Claire was the last to approach.  
  
'I forgive you for your actions.' She held back a sob. 'I'm sorry I couldn't save you.' She whispered, bending over Boromir's lifeless form. 'But I want you to know; you saved me.' She kissed his brow tenderly and stood to join her friend as the men hoisted the boat into the water.  
  
Aragorn laid a hand on her shoulder. 'He asked me to tell you, he's sorry, and he loves you.' Claire nodded but did not reply. The second part of her and her friends greatest adventure was about to begin, and yet, she could not even bare to speak, it was Sara's adventure now, she had lost hope. As Galadriel's words echoed in her head she wondered if the Fellowship needed her at all, but she did not voice her thoughts, she kept her silence.  
  
The remaining members of the Fellowship were stood on the river bank; Legolas began to heave a boat into the water. The girls had discreetly washed all the blood they could off their hands and clothes, passing the rest off as Uruk-hai blood. Sara seemed well enough, though the glint in her eyes gave away her pain, as did the lack of any emotion at all in Claire's.  
  
Sara and Claire didn't listen to the conversation until the three hunters looked at them expectantly. They stood together and placed their hands on their companion's shoulders. The group looked at each other before Aragorn said firmly, 'Let us hunt some Orc.'  
  
END  
  
A/N: I hope you liked it! Sorry if it was too angsty, please include some constructive criticism in your reviews if you have any suggestions for future adventures!!! And I've heard the platforms in the trees of Lorien referred to as both flets and Talan, so anyone kind enough to point out which is the correct one, will have me indebted to them for all eternity... 


	7. have they taken the hobbits to Isengard?...

Chapter 7: Have they taken the hobbits to Isengard?  
  
The group had been running for what seemed like forever, miles and mile of nothing but running. Aragorn was in the lead, searching for clues of Merry and Pippin's existence. Legolas was not far behind, leaving the other three to bring up the rear.  
  
Sara hoped to God that they were still alive, they had been in the film and the book, but what if their presence had changed something and the Uruk-hai had decided to kill them straight away instead?  
  
Claire had barely spoken at all; she was still too shocked by what had happened.  
  
Sara was weak, the group had to stop frequently on account of her injury, which Legolas still did not know anything about, and that was the way it was going to stay.  
  
The girls sat on a rock above a cliff, staring down at the floor below, wondering just how far the drop would be.  
  
"I'm sorry Hun; I wish that there was something I could do." Sara said solemnly to her friend.  
  
Claire's eyes filled with tears for what felt like the hundredth time since Boromir's death, Sara looked at her and nearly joined her, but instead she put her arm around her companion, trying to comfort her as best she could.  
  
"He did love you, it was just the ring..." she paused trying to think of the best thing to say, "it had too much power over him, he could not control his actions."  
  
Claire just stared aimlessly at the ground; there was something she hadn't told her friend.  
  
"There's something you should know...me and Boromir...in Lothlorien...we..."  
  
Sara's expression changed to one of shock, she guessed what her friend was about to say, "Oh."  
  
"Come on! We must keep going!" Aragorn called to the pair.  
  
"Their pace has quickened," whispered Aragorn, "come on we must keep going." He lifted his head from the rock.  
  
"Ooooh, someone's spider senses are tingling!" said Sara.  
  
Claire smiled through tears; they got up and rejoined the others, to continue the chase after the Orcs.  
  
They ran across the bare countryside, the girls longed for a hot bath and a comfy bed, neither of which they would be seeing soon, the men didn't seem to mind being grubby, which is understandable because they were...well...men. But to the girls this was torture.  
  
Aragorn stopped and bent down, he had noticed something on the ground, it was a leaf from an elven cloak, "Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall."  
  
Legolas turned and came back to see Aragorn's findings.  
  
Sara wasn't bothering to keep track of which part of the journey they were up to, but she heard a line from Aragorn that caught her attention, it was very familiar, "Legolas, what do your elven eyes see?"  
  
Sara shot up, elbowing Claire in the ribs, "what?" she asked; she looked over to where Legolas was stood and her eyes widened.  
  
"The Uruks have turned north-east...they are taking the hobbits to Isengard!"  
  
"Saruman." Aragorn whispered.  
  
That was it Sara and Claire just burst out laughing, unable to control themselves, they were rolling around the floor laughing hysterically, Legolas walked over to them.  
  
"Owww! Pain!" Sara moaned, she was laughing too hard.  
  
Claire stood up again, wiping tears from her eyes. "What is it you find so funny?" Legolas inquired.  
  
"Nothing!" said Sara quickly.  
  
"It must have been something." Said Aragorn giving them a puzzled look.  
  
Claire looked at Sara, "it's just...well...that line."  
  
"What line?" Legolas asked, frowning.  
  
Claire cleared her throat, stood as tall as she could, and in her best Legolas voice she said: "They have taken the hobbits to Isengard!" she gestured with her hands as she said it, making it look more dramatic. Sara collapsed again, it had been a while since they had laughed, or even smiled. Claire was also laughing, the others just looked puzzled.  
  
"What is wrong with that line?" Legolas looked offended.  
  
"Oh nothing, don't worry about it." Said Sara as the giggles subsided, they ran on, snickering every time Legolas so much as even looked at them.  
  
It was night time, they had decided to rest, only for a couple of hours though, time was precious as long as Merry and Pippin were still being held captive.  
  
The group sat around the campfire, looking miserable.  
  
Sara was sat on her own, just staring aimlessly into the fire, she was still not talking, or even looking at Legolas after what he had said to her.  
  
Aragorn was busy searching around for more clues of the hobbits trail, and Gimli was trying to keep the fire going as best he could in the harsh wind.  
  
Claire walked around, not knowing where she was, or how far away. She just didn't care. A song came to her mind, whilst stood on a rock, looking out towards the dark, fiery depths of Mordor. This song held a lot of meaning in her life at the minute, so as tears began to stain her pale face she sang softly to her self, her voice brimming with emotion.  
  
"I'm so tired of being here  
  
Suppressed by all my childish fears  
  
And if you have to leave  
  
I wish that you would just leave  
  
'Cause your presence still lingers here  
  
And it won't leave me alone  
  
These wounds won't seem to heal  
  
This pain is just too real  
  
There's just too much that time cannot erase  
  
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
  
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
  
I held your hand through all of these years  
  
But you still have  
  
All of me  
  
You used to captivate me  
  
By your resonating life  
  
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind  
  
Your face it haunts  
  
My once pleasant dreams  
  
Your voice it chased away  
  
All the sanity in me-"  
  
She stopped, sensing someone behind her; slowly she turned around, expecting it to be Sara.  
  
"Legolas?"  
  
He stood there; the elf had probably been there the whole time.  
  
"That song, it sounded so sad." he said, coming to sit next to her.  
  
"Yeah it's supposed to be, it's about losing a loved one."  
  
"Like the lament they sang for Gandalf, in Lothlorien."  
  
"Sort of, only this wasn't about Gandalf."  
  
"Boromir."  
  
"Yes" her eyes filling once again with tears.  
  
"He did love you; I could see that from the way looked at you."  
  
"Really? Then how could he do that to me, I was trying to save his life."  
  
"You knew he was going to die?"  
  
"Yes I saw it in lorien."  
  
"Then his death has served a purpose, which was not to be changed. The ring had much influence over him, more than any of us; he could not control his actions, as much as he may have wanted to."  
  
"I know."  
  
Legolas smiled at her, stood up and offered his hand.  
  
"Come, we must rejoin the others, you need to rest."  
  
Claire took his hand and stood up, "You really should talk to Sara."  
  
"I know, but she can be so stubborn sometimes, I'm only trying to protect her from getting hurt."  
  
"Oh I know she can be stubborn, she just doesn't like being told what to do."  
  
They walked back and rested for an hour, before once again taking after the servants of Sauron.  
  
They ran, in the distance a group of men on horses were travelling at a fast pace, Aragorn ran towards them and shouted, "Riders of Rohan!"  
  
They turned around and came towards the remainder of the fellowship. The men formed a circle around them, spears aimed at there throats.  
  
The girls looked at each other; this wasn't going to be pretty.  
  
"What business does a man, an Elf, a Dwarf and two girls have in the Riddermark?" the leader asked, sneering at Sara and Claire.  
  
"Okay no way does some idiotic man treat me like that." Claire muttered  
  
Murderously, unsheaving her sword, ready to fight. Aragorn looked at her sternly and she put her sword away, "Stupid bloody men."  
  
"Give me your name first mister and I shall give you mine!" said Gimli.  
  
The captain climbed down from his horse.  
  
"Owww!" Sara moaned, a spear scratching the back of her neck, "Will you please point that thing somewhere else!" she said to its owner.  
  
The man walked towards Gimli, who looked ready for a fight, but Aragorn put a hand on the Dwarves shoulder, warning him otherwise.  
  
"I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."  
  
In a flash Legolas had whipped out a fresh arrow and it was aimed at the man's throat.  
  
"You would die before your stroke fell!"  
  
Sara let out a squeal having just witnessed Legolas say that line; it was one of her favourites from the film. They stopped for a moment to look at her, and her face turned bright red. So she hid behind Legolas.  
  
Aragorn stepped between Eomer and Legolas who were glaring intently at each other, Aragorn was trying to keep the peace, he pushed Legolas' bow down and gave him a 'stare'  
  
"I am Aragorn; son of Arathorn, this is Gimli; son of Gloin, Legolas; of the woodland realm, and." He paused not knowing what to say, "Claire and Sara, from the north." He finished lamely.  
  
Claire and Sara were staring daggers at Eomer, if looks could kill...  
  
"We are friends of Rohan, and of Theoden, your king."  
  
Eomer took off his helmet, "Theoden no longer recognises friend from foe, not even his own kin."  
  
The soldiers finally lifted their spears, as the group were obviously not a danger to them.  
  
"Thank you!" Sara said, relieved to still have a head.  
  
"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over his lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan, and for that we are banished. The white wizard is cunning." He said walking towards the ranger, "he walks here and there, they say as an old man, hooded and cloaked and everywhere his spies slip passed our nets." Eomer stared at Legolas as if he was one of these spies.  
  
"We are no spies, we track a party of Uruk-Hai westward across the plains, they have taken two of out friends captive."  
  
"The Uruk-Hai were destroyed, we slaughtered them during the night." Eomer said gravely.  
  
"There were hobbits, did you see two hobbits?" Gimli pleaded.  
  
"They would only be children to your eyes." Aragorn said.  
  
"With curly brown hair." Claire added.  
  
"And no shoes." Said Sara.  
  
"We left none alive, we piled their carcasses burned them over there." Eomer said, gesturing towards the billowing smoke.  
  
Eomer called three horses and gave them to the travellers.  
  
Sara and Claire were about to jump on their horse when Eomer came over to them.  
  
"I wish to apologize; I was rude to you before, it's just that you can't be too careful in these dark times." He smiled at them.  
  
"We understand." Sara said.  
  
"Thank you for these horses, they are beautiful." Claire said, stroking the ebony black horse's mane.  
  
"Yes, they are the best we have."  
  
"We must get going, we will see you soon, I expect." Sara said.  
  
Both girls mounted the horse, with Claire in the front as Sara could not ride.  
  
They reached the pile of what was now ash, Gimli began searching frantically for any sign of the hobbits, dead or alive.  
  
"Its one of their wee belts!" he said, pulling the twists of Metal out of the smoke.  
  
Sara and Claire stood together, looking nervous, and afraid.  
  
"Do you know anything of Merry and Pippin's whereabouts?" Aragorn demanded.  
  
"No." Sara muttered sadly, wishing that she could say that they were still alive, but even she was not sure of that.  
  
Legolas muttered a small prayer for the hobbits, whilst Aragorn Cried out in frustration, angry that all their effort had been in vain and they had not even managed to save the hobbits, and stay true to the fellowship.  
  
"We failed them." Gimli said in disbelief.  
  
Claire walked towards the stout dwarf, putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.  
  
Aragorn was walking around, staring at the ground when he noticed something on the ground.  
  
"A Hobbit lay here...and the other" He said.  
  
Sara and Claire exchanged relieved glances, things were happening as normal for now.  
  
"They crawled." Aragorn began to search the ground for further clues as to where Merry and Pippin had ended up; he found the rope that had bound their arms, cut.  
  
"They ran over there." Aragorn was walking quickly following the trail. He stopped and looked up, Fangorn forest towered in front of him.  
  
"So they haven't taken the hobbits to Isengard?" Claire asked, gaining a 'how dare you mock me' look from Legolas.  
  
"What madness drove them in there?" Gimli asked, it was known that dwarves were not a forest people, but even Aragorn seemed worried about going in there.  
  
Aragorn took a cautious step, and soon disappeared amongst the mass of twisting rope and vines. Legolas followed, having lived in a wood for thousands of years meant that he was the least afraid.  
  
Gimli looked distressed, Sara and Claire took an arm each and half dragged him in.  
  
"achhh, ork blood." Gimli said tasting the blood from the leaves.  
  
Claire walked into the forest and looked around, she went ahead of Legolas, not noticing as an item fell from her backpack. They continued to walk through the forest.  
  
"What's this?" Legolas asked.  
  
"What's what?" Sara said turning around to see what had captured the elf's attention, she saw what was in his hands and froze, "Oh shit, Claire."  
  
"What?" she looked at her sindarin dictionary, and then at Legolas.  
  
"Where did you get this, it is not of elvish make, I have never seen anything like it before."  
  
"Umm..."  
  
Aragorn cam back to see what all the fuss was about, "We have to keep going." He said, "What is that?" he asked Legolas spying the book in his hands.  
  
"I'm not sure, it seems to be a sindarin dictionary, but I'm sure that no such things exist."  
  
"Where did you get this?" He asked the pair, who were trying to form a reason for owning such an artefact.  
  
"Umm...well...it..." Claire stuttered.  
  
Legolas flicked through the book taking in some of the phrases, he looked on the back, "Made in the U.K, where is the U.K?"  
  
Claire decided the truth was the only option for this, and she didn't want to lie to her companions, "The U.K is on a planet called earth, its where me and Sara come from."  
  
Legolas narrowed his eyes and looked at them sceptically, and how come on your earth you have sindarin dictionaries?"  
  
"Because-"  
  
Claire was cut off by Sara, who gave her a 'shut the fuck up' look, because Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken on our planet."  
  
"And how did you end up here?" Gimli asked.  
  
"Well we don't exactly know, we just walked through an archway and ended up in Imladris, in front of Lord Elrond."  
  
"Lord Elrond did not mention this, so you have been lying to us all along, are you spies of Sauron?" Legolas said.  
  
"No! No, we are most definitely NOT spies of Sauron; we're just not from middle earth."  
  
"But you have been lying to us all along?"  
  
"Well, not exactly lying just...not really telling the truth..."  
  
Claire grabbed Sara by the arm and pulled away from the situation, the others made no attempt to stop or follow them.  
  
"What did you have to go and tell them that for?" Sara demanded.  
  
"We owe them the truth."  
  
"Oh great, they now hate us, if I had left you talking then you would have told them everything, even that we know what is going to happen!! What are you crazy?"  
  
"We can't go on lying to them any more, if you expect them to trust us then we can't lie to them!"  
  
"oh yeah, cause they're really going to trust us now, I think that we are no longer members of the fellowship thanks to you and your big mouth!"  
  
"Me and my big mouth, what about you? Oh we haven't been lying just not telling the truth." Claire yelled at her friend.  
  
"Oh just shut the fuck up will you." Sara said, she stormed off in a different direction, leaving the group split and Sara and Claire on their own in Fangorn forest.  
  
(A/N: okay sorry I haven't updated in a while and I hope you like the new chapter, and if you do review! And if you don't tell us what we can do o put it right! Don't forget to check out our other stores! Sara x) 


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